Monster
by loveofthegame117
Summary: The War of Twilight is over, but the Hero of Twilight is left broken, wrestling with two spirits inside of him, the loss of his companion, and the beast he struggles to contain.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note- Hello everyone! So I planned for this to be a one chapter song fiction, based on Skillets song _Monster_, but it dragged on too long, so I decided to split it up into chapters! Disclaimer, I do not own Legend of Zelda, or any of its characters, or the song Monster. They are the property of their respective owners.

**Monster**

Link walked through the forest, where the spirit of Faron resides. Three months have passed since the twilight mirror was shattered, and his friend Midna was forever lost to him. The princess had kindly offered a room at the castle for him to stay in, "For an indefinite amount of time." She had said with a small smile. He hadn't asked any questions to this statement, but instead immediately collapsed on the bed once she had left.

Miraculously, the one fairy he had left had somehow been able to heal his many wounds; wounds that he was sure would never heal. The fairy had been exhausted, understandably so, and it was a while until it had the energy to fly off to the nearest fairy spring. After his wounds and the fairy had been tended to he had set off to find her highness. He had found her in the garden, spending a few precious moments in the serenity and peace that she had so longed for in the times of what was being called the Twilight War. He had given her the time of peace she craved, and waited outside the entrance door for the sake of her privacy.

While he was waiting, he confronted the true dilemma inside of him- The beast, no, the monster inside him. It was constantly scratching, clawing for a chance to be released. He had fought it as long as he could, but he was growing tired. He had come to inform the princess of this dilemma, and to seek her advice, given that she held the Triforce of Wisdom.

When she had finished, he was sitting just outside the door, staring at the wall. She hadn't seemed surprised to see him; in fact, she had appeared to be expecting him. "What is it you need, Hero?"

"Your Highness-"he had begun, but she had interrupted him, with a tone of exasperated annoyance. "Please, Link. Forgive my formal greeting. Please call me Zelda, I grow tired of the formalities of "Your Majesty." And "Your Highness."

Slightly taken aback, he had pressed forward nonetheless. "Of course Zelda. I-"He hesitated. Would she understand? How would she react to knowing that a very real threat resided within him? He looked back to her, and noticed she had picked up on his hesitation.

"Please Link; there is no reason to keep secrets from me. If you have a concern, or simply need someone to talk to, I will always be willing to help."

He weighed my options, he didn't have very many. Finally he relented. "Very well. Zelda, I am sorry, but I cannot stay here at the castle."

She reacted well. She invited him to come follow her, and she then led him into the garden, where she sat next to me on a bench. "Ok, why can you not stay here? Do you have a girl waiting for you back home?" She said with a good natured smile. He found himself liking her when she wasn't bogged down by her status as a monarch.

Ignoring the last comment, he answered. "Do you remember when we first met?"

She nodded. "Yes, of course. Well, I don't know if that counted. You weren't quite yourself then, were you?"

"Yes. I mean no. No, I wasn't quite myself." he tripped painfully over my words. What was the matter with him? He normally spoke very clearly. "Honestly, that is why I cannot stay. I don't believe I am myself." He broke eye contact with her, suddenly becoming intensely interested in a blue Hylian Violet. It didn't help when he noticed the flower was the same shade as her eyes. "_Whoa,_" he thought "_Did I just compare her eyes to a flower? Why did I even remember the color of her eyes?"_

Luckily for him, Zelda didn't pick up on his thoughts. She did, however, pick up on the last phrase he uttered. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean, not yourself?" When he didn't answer, she grabbed his chin and made him look back at her. "What do you mean, not yourself?" She repeated.

Panicking a little when she grabbed his chin, he responded perhaps too quickly. "I can't control it!" When he realized how panicked that had sounded, he slowed down, and said quietly "The thing I turn into, I can't control it." Zelda watched him with wide eyes. "I feel it, deeper than- well, I don't know. It's just beneath the skin, scratching, trying to get out. Zelda, I must confess, I feel like-" he hesitated, but not for long. "I feel like a monster."

He closed my eyes, remembering the look on her face once he had said what he needed to. She had given that same small smile she had the day before, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Ok then." She had said. "Take some time to yourself. Go spend some time in the forest, or the mountains. But promise me that you will stay in touch, Link. Promise me that you will come back." Her eyes implored that he answer yes.

Grateful she had both reacted well, and that she had given him what I needed, he agreed. The next day he left the castle, but not before Zelda had given him a small gift. It was a small, blue flute-like thing. The Royal Family's crest adorned the mouthpiece, and it was dotted with many small holes. "It's an ocarina," Zelda had explained. "Much like the one that the Hero of Time, your ancestor, used. His was called the Ocarina of Time, a powerful relic that had the ability to alter, well, time. Sadly, I was unable to get the actual Ocarina."

Link looked up from the curious trinket. "Why not?"

"It's been lost. There are many places it could be. Some say it's inside the Temple of Time. Others say it was buried with either the Hero or the monarch of the time, which would be in Old Kakariko. Others still say it remains inside the castle. Nobody truly knows where it is." A small look of sadness crossed her face. "Not only was the ocarina a powerful treasure, it was also a Royal Family heirloom. I am deeply sorry it was lost.

After she had shown him how to use it, she played a small tune on it, which she called Zelda's Lullaby. "It's a song that was known to represent the Royal Family. Play it anytime you wish to converse with me." Once he had learned the tune, we had bid farewell.

Three months of wandering through Hyrule had followed. He had occasionally taken the ocarina out, but he had never played the song she taught him. He had traveled to Kakariko Village about a week after he had left the castle, and he had asked the shaman about Old Kakariko. According to him, it was an old relic of the past. He hadn't known where it was; apparently it was lost as much as the Ocarina of Time, with just as many legends and theories surrounding it.

He had wasted about a month chasing the most likely of the stories, but he had finally given up. Another month had been spent in seclusion in the mountains. For two months he had been in solitary, except for the day he spent in Kakariko.

Eventually he was drawn to Faron Woods. Whether it was a natural urge to be back in a familiar area, the call of the beast within him, or the love of wooded areas that comes from the ever-present Hero's spirit, he did not know. Regardless, he found himself sitting in the spirit Faron's spring, and finally releasing the feelings he had kept inside of him since Midna had left him. The feelings of loneliness, from the loss of his companion, of rejection, where could he go now? Not Ordon Village, he couldn't face them after seeing their reaction to his wolf form, and he couldn't live in Kakariko Village, they already had enough strain rebuilding to be able to accommodate a new member to their village.

The Castle?

Where did that come from? Sure, Zelda had offered me a room, but I couldn't live there, there had to be some law against commoners living in the castle. No he couldn't live in the castle.

Then… Where could he go? Was he doomed to wander the land for the rest of his life? Suddenly the reality of his situation came crashing down on him, causing him to choke on the sudden tightness he felt in his throat and chest. He no longer had a home, or a purpose. He had been the Hero of Twilight, but there was no place for a Hero in peace, as there was no place for a beast in civilization. For the first time in many a week, perhaps since he had begun his adventure, he felt nothing but despair and loss, bringing long absent, but long due tears to his eyes.

He felt a stirring in the pool he rested in, the stirring he did not know represented the concern in the residing spirit. Faron had been interested when the young hero had come to her spring with obviously negative feelings. Seeing him go from disheartened to despair in such a small amount of time wasn't a good omen of his mental state. The pressure of housing both his and the Hero's spirit, along with the effects of his beast form alone would have severe repercussions; one would have to have a very strong mind and soul to withstand such influence. Factor in the experience of his adventure, and the effects it could have had on his mind, she was genuinely concerned of the state of the hero.

Link knew nothing of the concerned spirit watching him. He didn't know that Faron fed positive energy into the pool, bringing a feeling of sleep upon him, giving him respite from his struggles, if only for a short while.

AN- I'll get another chapter up as soon as possible. Reviews very helpful, and appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note- Hey everyone! Short chapter this time, but it seemed to be a good cutting off point, so yeah. I promise I will get Chapter three up soon!

**Monster: Chapter Two**

Link looked around him, startled. How did he get here? Where was he? He looked around him carefully, observing his surroundings. He was in a sort of temple, standing on a small pedestal with the Triforce and a curious emblem adorning it. Ahead of him was a table, made out of the same marble material the rest of the temple was, with a jet black top. Writing was inscribed on it, a language he instinctively recognized as Ancient Hylian. He had run across the language occasionally during his quest, and he assumed the Hero's spirit within him gave him the ability to recognize and read the obscure language, having learned it himself.

Before he had a chance to inspect the writing, a noise drew his attention behind him. He reached for his weapon instinctively, but his hand grasped nothing but air. Before he could make any other decision, a person walked in the entrance. He was dressed in a tunic that looked like an exact copy of the Hero's Tunic Link wore. The visitor himself actually looked exactly like Link, except he was close to ten years old. He was small, definitely a child, but he had numerous scratches and tears on his clothes and skin. Link also noticed a slight hardness in his eyes, underscored by confusion, and most of all, exhaustion.

What intrigued Link the most was the visitor made no reaction to Link's presence. Instead, he simply walked forward, heedless of the person in his path. Realizing he wouldn't move, Link jumped away from the stranger at the last minute, but the boy kept moving forward to the black-topped table. From this angle Link saw he had a small sword that clearly made for a child, and a wooden shield accompanying it. Curiosity overwhelmed him and he approached the boy carefully. "H-hello?" he asked. The boy did not respond. "Hello?" Link called a little louder. The boy still gave no response.

Finally the boy stopped at the table. Link stopped right behind him. From this distance, he could read the inscribed writing, "_Ye who owns three Spiritual Stones stand with the Ocarina of Time and play the Song of Time" _Link was confused. The Ocarina of Time had been lost long ago, how could this kid have found it? His train of thought was cut off when three objects flew from the boy's person. One was a green stonewith gold around it in a swirling pattern, yet another was a red stone embedded in a solid V of gold, and the last was three pearls of a blue stone connected by gold. These three objects flew into the air and settled into three indentations on the black table. Still confused, Link looked back at the boy, and was shocked. A small flute-like item was in his hands, which looked exactly like the one Zelda had given him, but this one had a strange aura surrounding it. It radiated a power that Link was unfamiliar with, something he had never encountered before.

Suddenly the room around them melted into a pure white fog. A figure appeared in front of them, a young girl dressed in regal clothes, holding the same instrument. She appeared to be talking to the boy, then played a strange tune. The feeling that swept through Link when it was played was one he had never experienced before; in fact he didn't know if there was a name for the feeling. Time stood still, then rushed forward impossibly fast, then slowed to a crawl, all in the same moment. And suddenly he and the boy were back in the temple, not knowing if the experience was real or in his head.

Whether the stranger harbored any confusion over the experience, he did well in hiding it. He played the song the girl had taught, and the feeling that swept over Link came again, but it seemed amplified by the place they were in and by the power housed within the stones. The notes echoed off the walls and other surfaces in the room, all overlapping into a strange otherworldly choir. A loud sound rang out from in front of them, and a large stone slab adorned with a hieroglyphic similar to the one on Link's Hylian shield slid open, revealing another room behind it. Once the sound of stone sliding over stone faded, so did the phenomena of echoing song notes, though the strange choir remained.

Feeling a little dazed, Link followed the boy up the steps and through the doorway into the next room. Inside was only an octagonal room, with the only notable feature being a large pedestal that gradually receded until it reached an altar adorned with the Triforce, with a strangely familiar sword embedded in it. As he approached the altar, realization came crashing back on him. That was the Master Sword! How could it be here, wherever here was? As he struggled to solve the riddles swirling in his head, he watched the boy approach the sword, awe painted on his face. As he reached for the sacred blade, blue energy radiated from the ground, blinding Link, then his world went dark.

===========================================\^/=====================================

Link awoke gasping for breath, drenched from his sleeping in the shallow pool. He remembered brooding here in Faron's spring, then suddenly feeling very tired and falling asleep, and then having that strange dream. It didn't feel like a dream, it was too clear, too precise. It felt more like a vision. But a vision of what?

As he pondered what he saw while he slept he felt a gentle nudge from behind him. Turning around, he saw it was Epona. He glanced up at the sun; he had been asleep for the better part of the day. She must be getting restless. He rubbed her mane absentmindedly, speaking partly to her, partly to himself. "If what I saw was a vision, what was it a vision of? It couldn't have been of the future. I've never seen anywhere like that, except for the Temple of Time, but there were too many differences for it to be there." Thoroughly confused, Link mounted Epona, and directed her away from the spring. He may not know now, but he would find out what he saw meant.

While the Hero of Twilight rode off, deep in thought, Faron relished in her success. The troubled Hero had been successfully distracted from his troubles, and would no doubt spend a good deal of time attempting to solve the riddle of his dream. Faron knew there was only one person who could give the Hero his answer, and could help him with his troubled spirit, and she hoped he would seek her out soon.

AN- Again, sorry for the short chapter, I will get a new one up soon. Reviews helpful and appreciated! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note: Hello everyone! Another short chapter, sorry, please bear with me, the next chapter will be at least half way decent, and will hold some plot movement! Yay! :D I will finish it and put it up as soon as possible! Also, thanks to Arctic Symmetry, ZeldaPhoenixLegend, ShiverIntheLight, and Vestasam568 for their reviews/support! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter Three**

Link sat under a tree in Hyrule Field, mentally examining his vision, as he had been for the three days that had passed since it had occurred. All his time spent deciphering it was fruitless, as it had not revealed any answers, but was more than happy to present him with more questions. Who was this boy he had seen? Why was he dressed so similarly to Link? Why did he have the Ocarina of Time? Where was the boy? Who was the girl that had given a message to the boy? The list ran on and on, and Link was at the end of his patience, which didn't happen often. After all, you didn't make it through all the temple puzzles and trials by having a hot head.

Another day passed, and Link was still no further along than he had been the previous days. But while he was making his way over a small hill which crested into a view of Hyrule Castle Link made a sudden connection in his head. The girl, dressed in regal clothes, and the Ocarina of Time. "A girl dressed like a princess." Link mused to himself. Hadn't Zelda said that the Ocarina of Time was a Royal Family heirloom? If so, then if his dream had been a vision of the past, there was a chance she knew who and what he had seen. Even if she didn't, Link realized he hadn't kept his promise to her to keep in touch. His stomach twisted as he imagined the consequences of his actions. Once he had broken a promise to Ilia by accident, and the consequences of that had been enough that he had never broken another promise in his life.

Seeing no other option but to go to her to get his answers, and deciding he probably should go talk to her at some point, he set off for the castle. With each step that brought him closer though apprehension grew in his stomach. Finally once he reached the gate his legs refused to meet his demands. This was humiliating. He faced down giant killer plants, enormous snow monsters, and the King of Evil himself, but fear of this one person's anger stops him? No, he wouldn't allow it. Epona nudged him forward, sensing her master's apprehension. Courage renewed, he stepped forward into Castle Town.

Link kept his head down while he made his way through the streets, and avoiding the main streets. Although there had been no official announcement regarding his involvement in the War of Twilight, many had pieced what they knew about the stranger in green and the final weeks of the war together, and consequently many rumors circulated around him. None of them held the complete truth about him but many were close, and the last thing he wanted was be cornered by people who wanted answers.

His trip through the town was greatly slowed thanks to his attempts to avoid people, and his trip through Hyrule Field had taken most of the day. As the sun started to set, he decided to stay at Telma's Bar for the night. After pulling a traveling cloak over his head to hide his identity, he quietly strolled in.

"You sure took you're time getting here honey, we're almost closed." Telma's warm voice rang across the bar, causing Link to smile beneath his cloak. As he approached the bar, Telma eyed him apprehensively. He knew she was very welcome to strangers, but he decided he didn't look very welcome in his dark cloak covering his face. So he sat at the bar and lowered his cloak, revealing his straight nose, tanned, handsome face, and bright blue eyes. "Hello Telma.'

Her face instantly brightened when she saw his face. Before she could cry his name out he put a finger to his lips and pulled the cloak back up over his face. Sensing he wanted to keep his presence discreet, she kept her voice low. "Hey sugar, haven't seen you around in a while."

"I've been away for a while Telma, but I had a, ah, a problem I needed help with.'

Telma laughed quietly. "Honey I would be glad to help, but I'm not much help when it comes to solving problems. Maybe you would have better luck with Shad. Best I can offer is a room and meals while you solve it."

"Thanks Telma, that's exactly what I need. I've already got someone I can ask."

Telma reached under the bar and produced a bottle of milk, which she started pouring while she continued their conversation. "And who might that be honey?" She finished with the drink and pushed it over to Link, who lowered his cloak, took a sip, and sighed appreciatively.

"Thanks. Well, I was planning to ask the princess. She knows most of Hyrule's history, and I know she will be able to figure it out." He took another sip from his drink as she watched him, a pensive look on her face.

"Honey I don't mean to play Majora's advocate, but are you sure you can go ask her to solve your riddle like that? And if you can, how do you know she can solve it?"

Link paused for a moment, suddenly aware of what she was implying. But he was also a little thrown off by her question. How did he know she would be able to help him? And could he just go and talk to her, especially after breaking his promise to stay in contact?

He felt a brief pulse from inside him, a pulse he was getting familiar with, from the hero's spirit within him. It said to have faith in the princess's kindness and ability to solve his riddle. The spirit hadn't steered him wrong before, and Zelda had said she would be there if he needed something. Finally, after weighing his responses, he spoke.

"I don't know if she will have the answer, but I'm confident she will steer me in the right direction at least. She has studies Hyrule's history, and if she doesn't know the answer, I don't think anyone will. And as to if I can speak with her, I think she owes me a favor." He said this last part with a small smile, hidden behind his drink.

"Mm-hmm, probably something to do with your little adventure don't it? Well if you think she'll help you, go right ahead honey." She gestured towards the empty mug in his hand. "You want me to refill that for you?"

He nodded eagerly, pushing the mud towards her. She sighed, grabbing the mug and beginning to refill it. "You always eat like a starved child when you're here, and I've got the records to prove it!" She laughed good naturedly, setting the now full drink in front of him.

An hour and several refills and plates later, Link finally retired to his room, setting a gold rupee on the counter to cover his meals and room, which Telma stated she would refuse to accept, but gave up when Link pushed it into her hand. "I am not going to expect you to give me shelter and food for the night without any payment, Telma." She said "Thanks, sugar.", and he went to his room, curling into a strange dog-like position in the bed, with his mind full of the possible outcome of tomorrow.

AN: How did you like it? Anything that needs to change? Again, I will get a new, longer chapter up as soon as I can! Reviews very helpful, and much appreciated! Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note- Hey everyone! Finally a chapter more than two pages long on Word! Yay! So this chapter was a bit difficult to write near the end, and I'm here at 1:30 in the morning finishing it, so it may get a little odd near the end. Hope that it doesn't get too bad! Thanks to the anonymous user who left an encouraging comment, and ShiverIntheLight who also left an encouraging review! So, without further chattering on my part, the fourth chapter of Monster! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter Four**

Zelda arose with a yawn, rubbing her eyes and wishing dearly she didn't have to wake so early. By the time she had bathed, dressed, and was on her way down to the dining room, the sun had just about begun to peek out over the horizon.

Her assistant, Reynold, was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. "Good morning your majesty, I hope you slept well."

She felt as if she was going to collapse in this uncomfortable dress and her lack of feeling rested, but royalty had standards, she knew, and one of those standards was politeness, so she forced herself to smile. "Good morning Reynold, yes, I did sleep well, thank you, and I hope you did as well."

"Yes, yes, thank you your majesty, I did. Now, the cooks have prepared a delightful breakfast of cucoo eggs and-"at this point Zelda's attention was lost as her thoughts were focused elsewhere.

Link had not been seen or heard of for three months, and she was beginning to get concerned. He had made a promise to her to stay in contact, but she had not gotten any kind of message from him at all. She had assured herself that there must be a reason for this, but this had only sparked her imagination into thinking of what if he hadn't contacted her because he was in trouble?

She squelched her thoughts. Now was not the time to have her imagination run rampant against her, especially over _him. _He had ventured all over Hyrule, had fought great beasts of horrifying power, had defeated Ganondorf and saved the entire kingdom. She was confident he could handle any kind of danger thrown his way. With the threat of the Twilight Realm and darkness generated by The King of Evil, she didn't think there was much danger in the kingdom that could seriously threaten him anymore.

Suddenly her last conversation with him flashed in her mind. He had said that he didn't feel like himself, that he had felt like a monster? What did he mean by that? As she listened to Reynold drone on about the day's activities, which she recorded, but paid no heed further to them, as they mostly followed the same pattern day after day, and Zelda had long memorized it.

A monster. What reason did Link have to call himself a monster? He was a hero, the Hero of Twilight, no less. He had saved the kingdom, two kingdoms, one from a maniacal tyrant, and the other from a sorcerer beyond all comprehensible power, from an age long gone, the age of the Hero of Time. She had studied it well, that the Hero and the Sage of Time had locked the sorcerer in the Dark Realm through the power of the six other sages.

Another part of their conversation flashed through her head. _"Remember when we first met? I wasn't quite myself." _She recalled her first meeting with the hero. He had been right, he wasn't himself, he was a-

"Your highness," A servant poked his head through the door. "Someone is here to see you."

She glanced up, distracted. "Who could be visiting at this hour?"

"I don't know milady. He was a young boy, looked as if he had been traveling for a long while."

A young boy? Traveling for a long while? Could it be? "Very well, send him in."

The servant bowed, and left to get the visitor. In the meanwhile, Zelda struggled to contain the hope leaping inside her. Could it really be him? Could he have returned at last? She firmly told herself not to get her hopes up. There wasn't any compelling evidence that it was him.

That's when he walked in. The servant had been right, he had looked as if he had been traveling for a while, yet the green tunic he wore seemed to always be perfect, yet worn. His eyes looked worn, tired, but the ever present wariness still remained, courtesy of his adventure to safe Hyrule no doubt. She had noticed it when she had conversed with him in the gardens. But there was something else in his eyes too. Something a little bestial, she didn't know how else to describe it. Maybe it was just from seeing those same eyes in his other form. As this flashed through her subconscious, she remained unchanged outside, donning her mask of royal neutrality. "Reynold, you are dismissed."

Reynold opened his mouth, about to second guess the command he had been given, questioning the logic and sense of leaving her alone with this scruffy looking visitor who they knew nothing about, but he decided against it. In the time he had been with the princess, he had seen enough to know that she never made a foolish decision. Instead he simply inclined his head, and left the room.

As soon as Reynold closed the door, she let out a little squeal, not noticing the slightly panicked and confused expression on his face when she embraced him, nearly throwing him off his feet. She didn't notice his mind flying at a mile a minute trying to figure out why she had thrown herself into his arms half laughing and half crying into his shoulder. She didn't take any note of how he patted her awkwardly on the back, not knowing what else to do. Finally she pulled away, sapphire eyes glistening, and asked the question that she had to know. "Where have you been?"

He didn't answer right away, he was still looking at the same place he was looking at when she had been embracing him. After a few seconds his mind registered that she was speaking to him, and he jolted out of his reverie. "Huh, w-what? Oh, well, I, uh..."

He tripped painfully over his words, again wondering why he couldn't speak as clear as he normally could. And it only happened around her. No, he wouldn't allow his mind to go down that road, especially not now. "Well I've been here and there."

She cocked her head at him quizzically. "What do you mean by here and there?" She then remembered another detail. "And why haven't you stayed in contact?" She crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.

Still dazed from his greeting and by all the questions, he struggled to find the answers. "Well, I meant to, but I got kind of wrapped up in what I was doing and never got the chance." He let his sentence trail off, hoping that she would take him at his word.

She didn't. "Ok then." She sat down at the table and gestured for Link to do the same, which he did. "What were you doing? Tell me about your adventures."

Link glanced up at her. "Which one?" he asked with a sheepish smile, which she returned.

"Um, how about both of them. Anything to distract me from my daily routine." She laughed.

"Heh, ok, well here goes." This wasn't the first time he had told a story. Many times the children at Ordon Village would beg to hear a story from him or Russel, and each time they were glad to oblige, often acting out the story for the enjoyment of the children. "So, it started in Ordon Village, when Talo chased this monkey into the forest…" He told the whole story, from beginning to end. Zelda was an excellent listener, asking questions, gasping, and laughing at the right moments. Finally he got to the part when he fought Ganondorf, and paused for a moment, which did not go unnoticed.

"Link? What's the matter?" Concern creased her face.

Link sighed, and searched for the right words to say his mind. "It's just, the battle, with Ganondorf. It's not really a memory I cherish." He said this last part with a small chuckle. "It was an extremely difficult battle, and it was very painful."

Zelda looked at the hero with searching eyes, trying to discern what was going through his head, trying to decide what words would comfort him. As she looked at the hero, she began to realize what he struggled with. The loss of his close companion, Midna, the physical and mental toll that his adventure took upon him, but there was more that she could see in his eyes, weariness, and the same bestiality that she had noticed in his other form. She decided to let the hero rest, he could finish his story later, and she had duties she needed to perform. "Link, you've obviously been through a lot, so get some rest. I'll have a servant direct you to your room, and we can continue this later when you are feeling more rested.

Link looked back up at the princess. "Thank you your majesty, but I have a room at Telma's bar."

Zelda looked back amusedly. "So you would rather have a room at a bar than a room in the castle?" as Link stuttered to respond her smile widened. "And I believe I told you to call me Zelda." While he stammered out excuses and apologies, she left the room.

Leaving Link behind still trapped in his thoughts.

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The day passed uneventfully for Zelda, the same boring routine she experienced every day, which she had repeated so many times she often did what she needed to while her mind was elsewhere, which was exactly what she was doing now. As she sat through meetings which she had long stopped intervening in, and read through reports of the status of the kingdom, which although weren't necessarily getting worse, were not getting better, her mind contemplated all that Link had told her. Hearing of his adventure was extraordinary, and far more complicated than she had first believed. But there was still the mystery of why he had hesitated when coming to the battle with Ganondorf. She remembered very little of the battle, aside from the ending blow Link dealt to the sorcerer. It had been a very difficult battle for Link, Zelda was amazed he hadn't collapsed as soon as the battle was over. A battle such as that could have a mental effect on someone, but how badly had he been affected? She spent the better part of the day struggling to solve this question.

The day passed similarly for Link, as he spent a good part of the day resting, and after that exploring the castle, which was far bigger than his initial impression, which was already quite large. As he looked through the castle he leaned it had been expanded on many times and in many ways over the years. Different stones told when each area of the castle had been built, but there were many different kinds. It was an excellent place to explore, but Link quickly grew lost in its twisting and overlapping hallways.

As he ventured through the castle, he opened yet another door, swearing under his breath that this castle was more confusing than the dungeons. He walked in, shutting the door behind him, but when he turned around to look at the room he had entered, and was quite surprised with what he saw. It was a small corridor, dimly lit, and fairly unassuming. Not seeing a better option, Link elected to follow it. As he did, it twisted and turned, and it seemed adamant in being as unpredictable as possible. Some parts were collapsed and he had to clamber over these sections. Eventually he reached the end of the corridor, which had a small door at the end, which he opened.

When he moved through the doorway, he was even more confused. The passage opened up into a very well decorated room. It looked much like the one Link was staying in, and for a moment he thought he had rediscovered his own room, but then he started noticing differences, like a piece of furniture that didn't belong or was in the wrong place.

As he looked around the room, trying to decide where he was, and more importantly, how to get out, Zelda walked in, but she didn't immediately notice him, her attention focused on the object in her hand, which appeared to be a bundle of papers. Before he could find a place to hide, she looked up and saw him. Surprise crossed her face, and she clapped her hand over her mouth to suppress a cry of surprise. Finally she lowered her hand and with a slight edge to her voice asked him "What are you doing here?"

After a few false starts he said "I got lost in the castle, and found some sort of passageway. When I followed it, it led me here." He stepped aside and gestured to the wall where he had entered from.

Still looking at Link suspiciously, she went over to where Link indicated. After a few moments, her hand tentatively reached forward to the nook which opened the doorway to the cavern. She turned to look at Link, suspicion gone. "So you were wandering the castle, got lost, found this passage, and followed it to my bedroom?" a quizzical look appeared on her face, though amusement danced in her eyes as she watched his face drain of color when he learned what room he was standing in.

"I-I am so sorry, I had no idea I was in this, this room, I- I'll just l-leave." He turned to leave, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, which spun him around.

"No, no, it's fine Link. I actually would love if you stayed, and maybe finished your story? I've been waiting all day to hear the rest of it." Her eyes took on the same look they did three months ago, asking him to say yes. Briefly he wondered why he took so much notice of her eyes, but quickly banished these thoughts, hoping desperately she wouldn't notice the sudden color that rose to his face. He quickly agreed to finish his story before she could make a remark on it.

"O-ok, sure. Well, where did I leave off?" he silently cursed his inability to speak clearly. Suddenly he answered his own question. "Oh, of course. The battle with Ganondorf." he began telling the story again; he told of the first few minutes of the fight, where Ganondorf took control of Zelda as a puppet. Several choice words left Links mouth at this point, all of which caused Zelda to wince, regarding the cowardice of Ganondorf, using Zelda to fight in his stead. After his anger subsided, he continued on, commenting on how good a fighter Zelda was, which elicited a chuckle from her. He went on, describing the horror he had felt when the beast of Ganon had arisen, an enormous boar that seemed to radiate dark energy. He had recalled his fight with Fyrus and aimed his arrows at the crystal, but Zelda caught him musing under his breath that he had felt that the manner Ganon had appeared out of portals only to be shot with Link's arrows. As he went on with his story, she learned of how he changed to his wolf form to combat Ganon's beast form, which Zelda thought ironic in a way.

Then he told of the battle on horseback, which Zelda remembered, as it had been up to her fire the light arrows which she received from the light spirits. It had been difficult to hit Ganondorf while both he and they had been on horseback. Link had struggled to keep up with the fleeing sorcerer, but somehow they had managed to do it.

The next part was the part Link dreaded to tell, when Ganondorf had finally decided to face the Hero of Twilight in a one on one sword fight. It had been the hardest battle Link had ever fought, and he had barely made it through. Ganondorf was already possessed unnatural strength, which was further enhanced by his dark magic, so Link mostly had to rely on his smaller size and better agility to avoid the deadly blade. Even so, he had endured several wounds, many would have been fatal had it not been for the fairies he had. They had fought for so long, Link had never thought it would end, but finally he summoned the last of his strength and had slipped past the defense his enemy had put up and drove his sword into Ganondorf's chest, at long last silencing the King of Evil's voice.

At the close of his story, Link fell silent, deep in thought. He had often contemplated his final battle. He had doubts as to whether he had truly defeated Ganondorf or not, after all, the Hero had fought the King of Evil, but had not truly killed him. What if Ganondorf still lived, and was waiting for another chance at the kingdom?

The Hero's spirit rose inside him again, giving him courage. If the King of Evil did return, he would be ready. He would not allow Ganondorf to overthrow the kingdom, even if it cost Link his life. Several times had this happened, the Hero's spirit had risen in him and given him support, or a small whisper of advice. Link didn't know why he did this, or how, but he appreciated it. Sometimes he had reached out to the spirit, but only lately had he begun to experience a faint shadow of a response.

Zelda suddenly spoke, breaking his train of thought. "Well that's quite a story." She looked at him curiously. "It must have been difficult." The statement held traces of a question.

He sighed heavily. "Yes, it was very difficult. Many times I felt like giving up. Once or twice I almost did." He kept his head bowed low in shame of the thought of his weakness.

Zelda noticed his body language and was quick to address it. "Yes, you may have come close to giving up, but you didn't, did you? I have personally observed our soldiers, and none of them could've done what you did. In fact, I don't know anyone who could've done what you did." She took his hand, causing him to look up at her out of reaction. "Don't feel bad about what you almost did. Feel proud cause you resisted it."

Link looked back down, turning her words over in his head. Finally he looked up, the traces of a smile barely forming on his face. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."

She looked back at him and smiled herself. "Of course. I told you if you needed someone to talk to then I would be here, didn't I?" He grinned sheepishly in response, confirming her words. "Well, that's one of your adventures, do you feel up to telling about your other? Or would you rather get some rest?"

Her small speech had buoyed his spirits, so he told her of course, he would tell of his latest journey. Though as he started, his spirits gradually fell, remembering his solitude and the despondent atmosphere that seemed to surround him during the long weeks. He began by telling of his trip to Kakariko Village, and inquiring to the whereabouts of Old Kakariko, which the shaman did not know. He continued, chronicling his search for Old Kakariko, and subsequently the Ocarina of Time, and the inevitable failure. He steered clear of going into detail of his weeks of solitude, not wanting to share the dark thoughts that had formed. Finally he reached of when he had inexplicably fallen into a deep sleep while resting at Faron's Spring, and suddenly remembered why he had come to her in the first place.

"Zelda, while I slept, I had a strange dream, or more like a vision. I was hoping you could help me figure out what it means."

Zelda seemed caught off guard by the statement, but was quick to agree. Yes, of course Link. What was the vision of?"

He scratched his head, searching for the correct words to describe it. "Well, it felt like I was seeing an event, either to come or that has happened, I'm not exactly sure. I saw a young boy, about 10 or 11. He was dressed almost exactly like me, with a small sword and wooden shield on his back. He didn't react to my presence, or any effort I made to talk to him. It's as if I wasn't there at all." Zelda's eyes widened as she listened to his story. "We were in some place that looked like the Temple of Time, with white pillars made of marble, and a kind of black-topped altar at the end of the room, with Ancient Hylian written on it. The boy walked up to it and three things just flew from him and started floating on the alter, and he pulled out an ocarina that looked exactly like the one you gave me, but it had this really weird glow around it. Then all of a sudden we were in an endless white plain, there was a lot of fog around us, but some girl, about his age appeared from the fog and spoke to him, then played a song. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was dressed in what looked like regal clothes. Anyway, after she finished, we were back at the temple, where the boy played the song, but it was different when he played it. It echoed off the walls and overlapped, until it sounded as if a choir was singing in the temple. The stones glowed really bright, and a door opened behind the pedestal. I followed him past the door, and the room we walked into was smaller than the one we left, and it had a single window that cast light on a pedestal in the center of the room, which had a sword in it. Both the boy and me were drawn to it, but as we got closer to it, I swear it looked just like the Master Sword. The boy approached it, and pulled it out, and that's all I saw.

Zelda looked at him for a while after he had finished his story, then finally said "Link, I think I may know what you saw." She got up and walked over to a large bookcase that dominated one of the walls, and pulled a very old looking book from it. She came back over and sat beside Link and opened the book. She looked through it, mumbling to herself occasionally, then finally her head shot up and looked at Link. "Link, does this look like the place you saw?" She passed the book over to him, where he saw an image of a large cavernous room with white marble pillars on the side, a small black-topped altar in front, a red carpet leading up to it, and a large door behind it, covered by a strange hieroglyphic.

After studying the image for a few seconds drinking in the detail, he looked back up at her. "Yes, this is what I saw."

She pointed to the caption under it, reading aloud as her finger dragged across it. "This is the Temple of Time." Link opened his mouth, but she went on, anticipating his question. "No, not the Temple of Time you were in, that was a monument, since the original has been long lost, just like the Ocarina. The old temple housed the Master Sword, which was what you indeed saw in your vision."

Link looked back to the book, deep in thought. "Ok, so that answers the "what did I see?" question, but do you have an answer for the "who did I see?" question?"

She started flipping through the book, chattering quickly as she went. "This book is a copy of what I personally believe to be a diary of the princess during the Age of the Hero, as it chronicles the events of the time, and tells of the Hero's journey, and the fact that it is written in Ancient Hylian, in very good handwriting I might add, leads me to believe it was written by her, as the only other who knew about his adventure was the Hero himself. I don't know if this is the original or not, but it has a lot of information about his adventure." She finally reached the page she was searching for. "Here it is. According to this, the Hero of Time collected the three Spiritual Stones and went to the Temple of Time, where he played the Song of Time on the Ocarina of Time, unlocking the Door of Time, where he drew the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, then becoming the Hero of Time."

Link stared at her, dazed for a moment. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but did they really need to call everything the "Something of Time?" You said "Of Time" about 6 times, that's a lot." Both she and Link had a thousand-yard stare for a moment, as if they shared a bond with thousands of people who had their exact thoughts. Then Zelda remembered what they were talking about.

"Well, be that as it may, I think that may be what you saw. The Hero bringing the three Stones to the Temple. Here are some drawings of the three Spiritual Stones." She pushed the book over to Link, where indeed three images of the three stones. Alongside the stones were more images depicting the Ocarina of Time and several unusual tools and weapons, most of which Link could not discern what they were, such as one appeared to be a large hammer, and another a fist-sized crystal with a glowing red core.

Link gestured at the images of various tools. "What are these?"

Zelda took a moment to flip through a couple more pages, stopping at a page decorated with red accents resembling tongues of flame. On the page was, among other things, an image of a large hammer, with a caption in Ancient Hylian under it reading "Megaton Hammer" which was apparently a weapon that the Hero discovered in the Temple of Fire, which he used to defeat a large fire-breathing dragon named Volvagia, then freeing the Gorons from their imprisonment.

Link looked up from the page. "So I apparently saw the Hero drawing the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, becoming the Hero of Time?"

Zelda looked back at him, grinning. "You sound skeptical Link. After all the things you've seen, you don't think that you could have a vision of the past? After all you've seen?" she scooted closer to him, a serious yet playful fire dancing in her eyes. "You say you can feel the Spirit of the Hero within you. You told of the vision that the spirit Lanayru showed you regarding the Fused Shadows." Link shuddered as he remembered the vision, wishing the spirit had simply told him of the ancient power residing within the relics. The sight of his longtime childhood friend Ilia with soulless white eyes attacking him with a knife, followed by the three darker figures of himself had long haunted him in his dreams. Zelda noticed the slight shake that overtook his body and the appalled look on his face, and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, speaking in lower tones. "You did fall asleep in Faron's spring right? Maybe the effect from the waters caused this strange hallucination. How hard is it to believe that you saw a piece of your predecessor's life?"

Link didn't answer. He knew she was right, but he didn't want to admit that to her, at least not when he knew she was trying to goad him into saying she was right. But also because the ramifications of what she was saying brought no small amount of apprehension to him. That he could see bits of the past? Could he see bits of the future as well? Was this gift reserved to only the Hero's life? Could he call on it at will? Too many questions swirled inside his head, until he finally reached one he said aloud. "How can I do this?"

Zelda's brow creased in concentration as she resumed flipping through the book. Finally she closed it, and spoke as she stared at the worn leather cover as if it would give her the answer through sheer force of will. "the Hero of Time could wield magic in his adventures, and he used this skill to do things such as power his arrows with flame and ice, or gaze through the Lens of Truth." She turned her unfocused gaze to Link, and continued talking. "He could do incredible things through his magic, even as a child. The magic proved to be central to his defeat of Ganondorf; he used it to wield the Arrows of Light, which weakened the Baron of Darkness." Her eyes regained focus, and her voice lost the slightly dreamy tone she had been speaking in. "Perhaps you too house this ability within you. Wielding magic, true magic, has been an art lost with the end of the Age of the Hero. Many have tried to learn how to wield it, but an extreme few have even come close, maybe five, since the end of the Age. Those that did come close went insane, fatally injured themselves, or simply disappeared. Never heard of again. All his research, his experiments, gone with him. Some say this was his succeeding, that his disappearance was the work of his magic, but that was centuries ago. The magicians name was Iniduoh. Some claim to possess this powerful gift, but they are mostly old men and women, or petty tricksters."

Link struggled to keep up with her, and after finally working through all he had been told, he asked "How did the Hero obtain this gift? Was he naturally born with it?"

"Well, according to popular lore, all with Ancient Hylian blood flowing in their veins possess the potential to wield magic, and it must be granted by the Great Fairy of Magic, who deems who is worthy to use her gift. The book says the Fairy called him to her fountain after he had defeated the King Dodongo in Dodongo's Cavern." She looked up at him. "You do look as if you have some Hylian blood in you. But Dodongo's Cavern? That's the first I've heard of it, and it could be anywhere, it may not even exist anymore."

Link's head swam with questions. Why was nothing where it used to be? How did everything get so lost? How did she know he had Ancient Hylian blood in him just by looking? He gave up, leaning his elbows on his knees and his hands on his head. "I don't think I can take much more of this. I've got so many questions, too many to count."

Zelda looked at her friend with concern, then glanced at the timepiece on her wall, shocked when she saw the time it indicated. She looked at the sun to confirm, yes, the sun was setting in the midst of orange clouds, it was late evening. "Link, it's very late, and we have gone through a lot of information today. Perhaps it would be best if we both rested and took some time to process it all." She tentatively patted his shoulder, trying to gauge his state. Finally he sighed, and stood up with one fluid motion.

"Of, course, that probably would be best. I guess we will continue this tomorrow? Or whenever is most appropriate for you." His voice began to weaken again near the end of his statement, and silently he fumed. One thing he would try to "process' was why in Din's name he couldn't speak clearly.

She suppressed a smile at his voice. "yes, of course. We shall continue tomorrow, at the same time we began today?"

He nodded. "W-well then, goodnight Pri- ahem, goodnight Zelda. See you tomorrow." Doing his best to preserve his dignity, though he raged inside over his lack of control, he bowed stiffly, unsurely, which Zelda did her best not to giggle at, and he walked out, closing the door behind him.

As Zelda began to close the book and prepare for the night, she heard a knock at the door. She went over and opened it to find a sheepish Link standing outside. "I forgot I was lost." He mumbled, refusing to meet her gaze. Sighing amusedly, she began to lead him to his quarters, laughter dancing in her eyes.

AN- So what did you think? Too long? Still too short? Too random? Review and ill keep working to improve it and get the next chapter out! Thanks! Auf Wiedershen! :D


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Note- Hey everyone. Sorry about the slightly late update, and small chapter- again- but unavoidable obligations caused me to be distracted from the story, and I was pressed for time to get something finished. So here is chapter five of Monster. And thanks to ShiverIntheLight for the supportive review, once again. You've been a great help in motivation, and I thank you for that. So to everyone and all, enjoy the latest chapter!

**Monster: Chapter Five**

Link awoke, not bleary eyed and ready to roll over and fall asleep again like he used to, but alert and awake, courtesy of his adventures. He observed his surroundings without moving, briefly wondering where he was. Then his headache form last night returned, and with it, knowledge of where he was and why. Rubbing his head, he sat up and made his way towards the washroom.

After bathing and dressing in the Hero's green tunic and white leggings, he donned his cap and weaponry, he exited the room. Trying to remember the basic layout of the castle Zelda had told him, he started uncertainly down the hall, but was intercepted by a servant boy not much older than him. "This way sir. Her Highness sent me in case you could not recall how to reach the dining hall." He said respectfully, eyeing the worn tunic and weaponry with barely hidden awe.

Link was a little indignant to learn she had sent a servant to lead him around, but reluctantly admitted the obvious- he still had no idea where anything was. As the boy led him to the hall, Link carefully committed every hall and fork to memory, asking questions as to where various corridors led, which the boy answered when he knew the answer. By the time they had reached their destination, Link had knew most of the castle layout.

The boy opened the door and gestured Link inside. He entered to find a fairly large table holding many different kinds of foods and delicacies, many of which Link did not recognize. There was Cucoo eggs, ham and other meats, milk, rolls of bread, among other things. He didn't know such food existed, and he was sure he wouldn't have time to taste and name each dish.

Seated at the table were Zelda and her assistant, whose name Link did not know. Three servants also stood at attention at the edges of the room, presumably as waiters. Both were talking amiably, though the flustered expression from her assistant and the characteristic amusement Link was becoming familiar with was evident on Zelda's expression, indicating that whatever debate they were having Zelda had the upper hand, which Link didn't find surprising, she was a very good speaker, and had the smarts to match. _"Again, where does this kind of stuff come from?"_

Zelda looked up and saw Link standing at the entrance, unsure of what to do. She smiled, and beckoned over to him to sit, which he did. "Good morning Link. I trust you slept well?"

He nodded, ill at ease from sitting in such close proximity to both the princess and her assistant, who observed the green-clad hero through shrewd eyes, but if Zelda noticed, she didn't address it. Instead she kept her eyes fixed on Link. Not sure what to do, Link muttered "I trust you slept well?"

The assistant cleared his throat loudly, obviously unimpressed with his response. Zelda looked over at him and said "Oh, Link this is Reynold, my assistant. He helps me stay on schedule, makes my routine for the day, and functions as the middle man between me and other high-ranking members of the kingdom when I'm not available, among other things." Her expressions displayed disdain as she explained his duties, particularly pertaining to her schedule and daily routine, giving Link reason to believe she did not enjoy her adherence to a schedule.

Reynold inclined his head to Link. "A pleasure." Link inclined his head in return, though he was set a bit on edge by the man's borderline arrogance. The man wasn't being openly rude to him, but Link certainly felt an edge of pompousness being directed towards him.

Zelda looked between the men at the table, and finally said "Reynold, you are dismissed. There are certain matters I need to discuss with Link." Reynold looked a bit taken aback at this announcement, but didn't question it. "Of course, Your Highness. Link." He gave a small bow to each, then sharply turned and exited.

Zelda gave a small breathy laugh once he exited. "Reynold can be a bit, let's say questioning of the presence of non-nobles in a place such as the Royal Dining Hall. Try not to let his attitude get to you too much, he'll come around eventually." She paused, resuming her breakfast as Link took some food on his plate. He bit into a roll he had smoothed over with butter made from Lon Lon milk, and his eyebrows shot up at its taste. "By the Three, this is good!" It was just firm enough on the outside to provide a nice crunch, but the inside practically melted in his mouth, added to the sweet flavor of the butter, all combined into a blend that caused him to wolf down the rest of it, savoring every bite. When he looked up, Zelda was looking over, with her eyebrow cocked and laughter in her eyes. Link suddenly became very self-conscious of how ravenously he had downed the roll. Slowly setting down the roll he had begun to butter on his plate, he awkwardly cleared his throat.

To her credit, Zelda stifled the laugh that threatened to emerge. Link noticed her effort and decided to change the subject. "So, um, you told Reynold that there were matters we need to discuss. Were there actually matters we need to discuss?"

Zelda put down her utensils and cleared her throat. "Yes actually. I did a little more research into several of the questions and topics we discussed. I wasn't able to find any information regarding where the Fairy resided, but I was able to confirm that Ancient Hylian blood does entail the potential to wield magic, though the actual ability can only be awakened by an extreme outward force, such as a Great Fairy's power, or a similar experience, such as an unbelievably powerful spell. There are even some cases- legends and stories mostly- that tell of events like someone being struck by lightning awakened the ability."

Link looked back at her with slightly raised eyebrows. "Struck by lightning?"

Zelda looked back, equally perplexed. "Well big gifts have big prices, I suppose."

Link grinned. "I'd rather go through the pain of climbing to the Fairy then get struck by lightning, if I had a decision."

She grinned back, nodding in agreement. "Yes, I agree. Anyways, back to the Fairy. I wasn't able to find where Dodongo Cavern and consequently the Fairy's Shrine.

Link sighed, a little exasperated. "Um, I have a question." Zelda looked at him expectantly. "Why has everything changed? Shouldn't this be the same land it was all that time ago?

Zelda's eyebrows knit together. "I've asked the same question myself. Upon investigation into the Royal Library, and other sources, I managed to uncover enough information to piece together that sometime after the Hero had long passed there was a rift caused by powerful, otherworldly magic. This rift caused massive consequences, the most notable being the rearranging of the land. For some reason, some areas weren't affected, such as the resting place of the Master Sword, probably cause of the powerful, ancient magic that rests in that area."

Rift? "What do you mean by rift? And what kind of magic could be strong enough to cause the entire land to rearrange?"

"I have no idea, but some sources hint at it may have something to do with Termina."

Once again, question after question with no answer. This felt like the Water Temple all over again. "Zelda, what in Farore's name is Termina?"

"Another long story, one of the Hero's adventures' soon after he finished his quest to defeat Ganondorf, freeing Hyrule. But we're getting off-topic. I don't know who or what caused this rift, but all I know is what I told you.

Resolving to answer this newest development later, he returned to the issue at hand. "Ok, so we have an idea of how to awaken this magic, assuming I have the ability to use this magic. So that kind of explains why I saw what I saw. What do we do now?'

Zelda beckoned over a servant who stood at attention by the door. He began to clean up both of their plates, and the plate at the empty seat which was Reynold's. After the servant left through the door, Link leaned forward to Zelda. "Are you comfortable with speaking about this with your servants listening?"

Zelda looked towards the door where the servant had exited, and looked back to Link. "Yes, I trust all of my servants. What they hear of my conversations they know not to speak of anywhere else.' With this she shot a conspiratorial wink towards the servant girl nearest to them, who smiled shyly in response. Link decided to trust them.

"As for what we do with what we know, I don't have an answer for that. Perhaps this is an isolated occurrence, perhaps it's not. For right now, we simply wait, and see what will happen later on. But this chance of you being able to wield magic, that's something we can go on. Whatever caused your vision may have awoken the dormant magic inside you. If that's the case, we may be able to learn how to harness it, i.e., for you to be able to use it. I have responsibilities to perform, but I found this while I was searching in the library." She handed him a worn piece of paper, from the looks of it was decently old. When he unfolded it, it revealed a map that he recognized some parts to be of the castle. A quick check confirmed that this was a map of Hyrule Castle. "You are free to go where you please, and the servants know to obey you as they would me. If you wish, you can investigate any more questions you may have in the library, or visit the training floor to practice your swordplay. I daresay some of the guards could learn from just watching you. Goodness knows they need it." She stood up. "I will speak with you later, Link. Have a good day." With that, she inclined her head and exited the room.

Link looked back down at the map, and with the many questions he had collected from the past few discussions, he stood up and looked at the map. He had a ways to go to the library.

AN- So was it up to your expectations? Or not as good? Leave a review and tell me what you think, please! Until next time! Addio!


	6. Chapter 6

Authors Note- Hello everyone. I'm sorry about the late update, I was away all week, and never got a chance to finish and upload the chapter before I left. I've uploaded this one early as an attempt to make up for it. Hope you like it! And, thanks to bindweed-flower, ShiverIntheLight, triforceofwisdom, sonicxjones, and an unnamed guest for the encouraging reviews and comments! So without further ado, Chapter Six of Monster!

**Monster: Chapter Six**

Link rested his head in his hands at the desk he sat at. Books were piled around him, books telling of the history of the land, or the Age of the hero, some were so old that they had nearly fell apart when he took them off the shelves. He had been up here for the better part of the day, searching for all the answers and information he could. He doubted he could find anything that Zelda couldn't, but he had tried anyway. Behind him was a large board he had written what he knew on into a timeline of sorts.

According to what he had learned, centuries after the hero had disappeared (there wasn't any verifiable truth the Hero had died, no body, no sense at all of where he went, he had simply vanished) there was a large rift that affected the land, a tear in the fabric of space and time. The cause of this fissure, but the effects were obvious. Maps of Hyrule before the rift showed forested regions in the southern part, bordered by a large lake, which was labeled as Lake Hylia. To the western region was a large desert, to the east was mountains and the Old Kakariko Village, and finally the castle and city bordering it, though both were near to the location they stood today.

There hadn't been any cause listed for the rift, and Link hadn't been able to deduce what it was. It sounded as if an enormous amount of energy was required to cause such an occurrence, but he couldn't think of anyone powerful enough to do it, save for the Three Goddesses. He had entertained the idea that perhaps darker powers could have caused it, namely Ganondorf, but he had quickly dismissed this theory. Strong and powerful as the King of Evil was, Link didn't believe he was powerful enough to totally rearrange the landscape.

Satisfied for the moment, he turned to his investigation to magic. The subject had been as scarce and elusive as the shift in land did. The best Link could do was verify what information Zelda had given him, and even then it was difficult to do so. Much of the information Zelda had given him looked to be retrieved from sources he did not have access to.

Link eyes were itching from spending so much time in the library reading. He leaned back and closed his eyes, putting all he had been investigating out of his mind. Then when it was sufficiently emptied, he turned his mind to a rather uncomfortable subject- his actions when around the Princess of Hyrule.

He hadn't had much of his short time at the castle to contemplate his predicament, though it was something that lingered in the back of his mind. With some spare time, he began asking himself the question he had been wondering for a while, "Why do I act the way I do whenever I'm in the same room as Zelda?"

That was too broad a question. He settled for a smaller question, more close to the pint. "What do I do when I'm around her?" well, he stuttered often, tripping painfully over his words. Also he noticed his palms grew damp occasionally, prompting him to wipe them dry on his tunic. The further he pondered the question, the more answers he came up with. Stuttering, damp palms, dry mouth, self-consciousness, and other uncomfortable notions.

Suddenly his mind flashed back, back before he had met the princess, back before he was the Hero of Twilight, back when he was still an ordinary ranch hand in Ordon Village. When he was younger around his early teens, he had begun experiencing symptoms similar to this whenever around his close friend Ilia. Whenever he had spoken to Uli about the strange, and frankly, embarrassing, reactions, she had explained that Link was developing a crush on his friend. Link had never shared it with Ilia, though he had been planning to around the time his adventure had started, but unfortunately, whenever Ilia had suffered from amnesia, with the loss of her memory had come the loss of whatever feelings she any have had for Link before. It had been difficult at first learning for this, but he had been quick to get over it. Even though there was no chance of anything more, he was happy that he at least got his friend back.

If these reactions was the same as the reactions he had for Ilia, then did that mean he was falling in love with _Princess Zelda?_

Link paled, a little alarmed. It wasn't that he didn't think Zelda was a good girl, she most definitely was, but if her assistant disapproved of his presence at the castle simply because of his non-noble status, how would he, or anyone for that matter, react to learn that he possibly harbored affection for her highness? How would Zelda react?

As soon as this thought passed through his head, his mind opened floodgates of terrifying scenarios, most usually ending in ridicule, exile from the castle, and in one particularly gruesome thought, execution. His hand unconsciously rubbed his neck, taking comfort that he believed he wouldn't be executed for such emotions.

Link quickly took all thoughts of Zelda and his possible feelings for her and shoved them into the deepest and darkest corner of his soul, a practice he had perfected since experiencing the horrors of his adventure and the difficulty of coping with simply killing and killing and killing in so many ways. Of course, he had Midna when he was on his adventure, and although she was cynical and snarky, she had been a help in dealing with the enormous burden. Now she was gone, and he didn't know who he could confide such dark feelings with.

He glanced outside, surprised to see that it was getting late. Finally, one thought broke through, and with it his will broke. He had been resisting the urge since he had come to the castle, but the burden of loneliness and his scarred soul became to much. He would change to his beast form, become a creature that need not worry of such things. It would be a refreshing escape, if only for a short while.

Mind made up, he followed the map in his mind to his room, where he knelt and tapped softly on the floor. Finding the panel he had been searching for, he pulled it up. Revealing a sack that held, among other things, the wolf-stone. He pulled it up, set the panel back, and tied the cord around his wrist.

A familiar yet welcome pain shot through his spine and bones as they reshaped, his nose elongated into a snout, legs bent to a supine form, clothes melted into dark grey fur, tinted ever so subtly by the deepest green, and soon a wolf stood where a man had, although the beast held strangely man-like eyes. After circling in place out of joy, he leapt through the open window into the open, free world as only a beast can explore.

AN- So how was it this time? Good, bad, decent? Leave a review, or comment and tell me! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note- Hey everyone. So here is chapter seven, not my best piece of work, but it's the best I could do. So in light of this, I would like to ask a question- would you rather have a story updated every week, regularly, or have more time between updates and some better content? Leave your answer in a review or PM. Other than that, thanks to Sorceress Of The Fake and triforceofwisdom for their reviews! Oh, and I also put up a small Skyrim fan fiction if that interests any of you guys. So without further ado, here is Chapter Seven of Monster!

**Monster: Chapter Seven**

Link rushed through the undergrowth, feeling the ecstasy of returning to beast form course through him, giving him more energy to dart through the bushes like a shadow. Anybody who happened to glance his way as he moved thought it was simply a trick of the moonlight.

He couldn't believe how good it felt to be free again, not bound by the troubles of human strife to be a simple beast. Of course he still had intelligent thought, and such still knew of his troubles, but as a beast they felt detached, unimportant.

He sniffed at the ground, catching the familiar scent of Hyrule Field, possibly tracked in on a wanderer passing through, or one of the kids he had seen playing in the wide fields. He began following the trail, keeping close to the shadows near the buildings. He easily slipped past the half-asleep guard, and escaped to the open plain.

Link stopped, raising his head to sniff the fresh air. How long had it been since he was here, since he felt this free?

Suddenly his nose twitched. Ears flattened, eyes narrowed as an unfamiliar scent reached his nose. It wasn't the unfamiliarity of the scent that stopped him, it was the cries of help that came with them.

A low growl came deep from his throat, and he leapt in the direction of the cry, covering nearly two yards with each bound. Soon he came across the source of both the scent and plea. On the road were three men closing in on 2 other figures, one a young girl and the other another woman, presumably her mother. Another figure laid prone on the road, a man who from the look of the large lump on his head had been protecting the two girls but was overpowered by the three highwaymen. The remains of a cart was also present on the side of the road, now broken and forgotten. Horse tracks led away from the dilapidated remains of the cart in the direction the spooked animals had run off in.

The mother clutched her child to herself, begging the three men to have mercy. The men were closing in on them, trapping them in a corner they could not escape. Link growled at the injustice before him, he would not allow these men to escape unscathed.

Barking loudly, the wolf leapt towards the nearest man, who turned in surprise at the unexpected noise, and he was quickly knocked down by the wolf's powerful body, the remaining bandits snarled and turned to face this new threat.

Link snarled back at them, pacing back and forth, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Ears became sharper and nose more powerful as he carefully bade his time. He bent his legs ever so slightly, sniffing at the men's excess perspiration at their terror, hearing the sharp intakes of breath, the dull thump of their hearts, and the whimpers from the young girl as she and her mother watched wide eyed.

Finally the larger thief on the right cried out and raised his sword, and with the battle cry the tension broke. For one split second that stretched one minute, the muscles in the wolfs legs churned as he darted to the side to avoid the sharp blade, felt the air beside his body part as the blade cut through it, and lunged back to attack the off-balance man over. The now defenseless bandit screamed as he waved his arms trying to fend of the beast. Link, who had no interest in killing the man, used the abnormally hard skull of the Sacred Wolf's body to silence the man.

Witnessing the defeat of two of his comrade's in half a minute, the last criminal dropped his sword and ran. Inwardly scoffing at the cowardice of his target, Link barked at the fleeing form to make sure he would not change his mind, though he was confident there wouldn't be anyway.

His heroic deed done, Link turned back tail wagging and tongue lolling out to the victims of the highwaymen's assault, looking like a dog expecting a reward from his master after performing a good deed. However he was not to be satisfied.

He felt a hand hit him from behind. Whimpering, he turned to see the blazing eyes of the previously unconscious man, who raised his hand for another strike. "Beast! Monster! Keep away from my family!" Dodging the next blow, Link looked back pleadingly to the women, hoping for them to come to his aid. However they clung each other tighter and shrank further away from him. Avoiding yet another blow from the man, Link darted away, the father's cries chasing him the whole way.

Ten minutes later, Link's supine form sat on a rocky perch, head drooped in sadness. He had saved that whole family's life, and had been chased off as a monster. The act brought back the painful memories of his lifelong companions, the Mayor, Rusl, and others crying out "Beast!" and attacking him.

Suddenly he did not want to be a wolf anymore. How could he escape the problem he faced as human when he was cast off as a beast while in wolf form? Was there anywhere he could find solace? As tears threatened the sharp blue eyes, he answered his question as he slowly fell asleep.

AN- Yeah, not the best I've done, but I was on a deadline. Even so, did you like it? Didn't like it? Leave a review and tell me your Thoughts!.. Please? Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note- I know! I know! Late update! Please don't be angry! School is starting soon, and other obligations in my life have kept my attention, so I haven't had a lot of time for this. I have read the answers left by you, and I will continue to strive to update it weekly, but it may be a couple days late sometimes. Thanks to ShiverIntheLight, Sorceress of the Fake, and TriforceOfWisdom for their reviews and answers. So, chapter eight of Monster!

**Monster: Chapter Eight**

Zelda looked up, startled. She had been quietly sitting at her reading desk in her quarters, wondering where Link had been all day, as he had not shown up at dinner, and none of the servants had seen him all day save for the few in the library, when she had heard a quiet _thump_ and a soft whimper, not unlike the use a dog would make when injured. That in itself was unusual, as she knew of no dogs on the castle grounds- well perhaps the small dog the castle cook owned, but it wouldn't possibly be able to make its way near to where she resided, and certainly not in the room above her.

Room above her… Link's quarters were not directly above her, but they were close enough that it was plausible the noise came from there. Even if it didn't originate from there, it gave her a reason to check on him, ask him where he has been.

Thus decided, she rose from her chair and started her way towards Link's room.

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Link inwardly groaned as his supine from landed heavily in his room. He had spent a good portion of his strength getting back to the castle, the aftermath of his grief causing him to be less agile than before, bruising from botching jumps that should have been simple, cuts from bushes that would've been a cinch to avoid. Then the actual climb. It had been brutal without Midna to assist in the jumps, but he had managed, barely. The last jump nearly had him spent, but he made it. He lay there for a moment, just breathing slowly, savoring the rest.

He didn't react in time. He heard the footsteps outside, saw the doorknob turn, but he failed to hide, to lose the amulet, to do something to avoid his unexpected visitor. Instead, he watched as Zelda entered his room and the surprise play out on her face, followed by her clapping a hand over her mouth to hide the involuntary scream of panic. Even with half her face covered by her hand, he could see the pure terror, and then watched it melt into faint recognition, finally she lowered her hand, and with wariness still evident in her voice, she whispered, barely audible "Link?"

Keening mournfully, the large wolf nodded its head. Then, before her eyes, the canine's profile shone brightly with a muted light similar to the twilight shroud, and suddenly the Hero of Twilight kneeled where the Sacred Wolf had been before. All wariness forgotten, Zelda rushed forward to where he was, concern overshadowing all other inclinations. "What happened?"

Within 10 minutes he had told her everything, apart from his realization that he could harbor feelings for the princess. Everything starting from what little he had learned from his time in the library, to his excursion as a wolf, to his heroics with the attacked family and the subsequent rejection with the father, and finally the long, arduous trek home.

While he talked, Zelda tended to the minor scratches and cuts he had acquired from his escapade. She was no doctor, but she knew basic treatment for minor wounds, and she put to work that knowledge, using a dampened cloth to clean the cuts, covering them in white, sterile bandages. After they had been covered, she simply sat and listened as he finished his story. She could tell from the slight slouch in his shoulders and the troubled expression in his eyes that he had taken the rejection of the family hard. But there was something else, something he had omitted from his tale, but Zelda decided to leave it be, now was not the time to press him for more information.

When he finished, they both sat in silence for a while, as Zelda searched for what to say. He obviously needed to hear that what the man did was of no fault to him, that he was still the Hero that had rescued Hyrule from enslavement and possible destruction. But the words didn't come. She simply couldn't find the way to deliver them. So silence continued, until the hollow voice of Link broke it "You should go back to your room Zelda, it's getting late, and you don't want to be caught in here at this hour." Searching desperately for the words to banish the hollowness from his voice, she impulsively leaned forward and hugged him, quick, but filled with the words she couldn't articulate. She caught a flicker of life in his gaze, something she couldn't recognize, something struggling to get free. Pleased that her last-ditch effort had rewarded some result, she got up and left, closing the door behind her.

Link didn't move for a long time after she left, just sat and stared at the same spot he had been. But finally, as he prepared for sleep, a small grin touched his face as his eyes drooped, and a warmth kept the cold at bay all night.

AN- Liked it, didn't? Review please, and tell me what you thought! Thinking about branching out and doing other titles like Mass Effect, Halo, Minecraft, etc. First ill keep updating this, but keep a weather eye on the horizon! Addio!


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note- Hello everyone! I don't have too much to say on this chapter, so ill give other news instead. I will be away this weekend, so I may or may not be able to update next week. Sorry :P And I have another question for you- I'm still relatively new to this website, so newbie question- what is a community on .com? That's the authors question for the week, leave your interesting or creative responses (and at least one true answer) in the review section

BELOW.

(I've watched way too much =3)

Thanks to ShiverIntheLight, Sorceress of the Fake, Lady Fai, DeathScythesandTwinPistols, sonicxjones, sippurp123, and TriforceOfWisdom for all their reviews! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter Nine**

It was a sunny day, blue sky dotted with a few puffy clouds, and the sun shining as if Din herself was behind it. A young child ran across the outlying field of Kakariko Village, watched by his older brother. A few months ago Mommy had told him it was dangerous to play outside the town, but wouldn't tell him why not. His friends had told him there were monsters outside, but he didn't see any monsters. Soon he was allowed to go out of the town again, but only if his brother watched him.

The boy saw a large dragonfly flit by him, bigger than any bug he had ever seen. Curious, he carefully crept up to it, and then leapt to catch it, only to have it fly out of his reach. Laughing, he pursued the creature, scrambling over rocks and leaping over small bushes.

Eventually it led him towards a large crevice in the ground and disappeared. But as he started climbing into the yawning opening, he heard his brother calling him, and then saw him coming over. As the young boy enthusiastically told of the strange insect, his brother pensively gazed down the cave-like fissure, he thought of all that could be within- dangerous creatures, sharp, spear-like stalagmites, drop-offs hidden by the dark. Turning his gaze to the sky, he resolved it was time to bring his sibling home. The younger resisted at first, insisting that the dragonfly must be caught, but relented eventually to his elder's soft, firm tone. As they walked away, neither of them noticed the odd ruins hidden just beyond sight in the crater.

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Link breathed slowly in and out, muscles strained against the drawn bow in his hands. His eyes focused on the target 20 meters away. His hand swayed for a fraction of a second before he corrected. He breathed in, out, held stone-still as he held his breath, and released the arrow. In an instant the arrowhead lodged deep in the center of the target, shaft still quivering from the impact.

He lowered his bow, a smile touching his lips, as he watched the last, tenth arrow in his quiver fly right where he intended it to. He heard slow applause from behind him, and turned to see the captain of the guard behind him. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he looked down, pretending to adjust his bow.

"Very impressive, for a lad your age. Many of my soldiers cant even draw the bow when they first come in, much less hit the target. Yet you, a mere boy, have shot a perfect score as if you've handled a bow since you could walk." The captain walked forward, looking out at the targets. "And by the three, you split one of the arrows with another arrow!" He turned to Link, impressed unbelief reflected in his eyes. "May I see your bow?"

Link handed him the Hero's bow, which the captain took and turned it over in his hands, inspecting every detail. He turned towards the targets, and looked down the bow as he would if he were aiming an arrow, then drew back the string. He held the position for a moment, then slowly relaxed the string and returned the bow to its owner. "That's an impressive bow you have, I've never seen its equal. And not a style I've seen before. The craftsmanship, the material, even the string I recognize. Where did you get such a curious artifact?"

Link hesitated. He didn't want to reveal his bow was an ancient relic from centuries ago that he had acquired in the Goron mine that had been protected as their most treasured possession. So instead he said "It was custom made by a traveler that was passing through Ordon Village. He had many items and materials we don't have here in Hyrule."

Appearing satisfied, the older man shook his head "Incredible. If you ever see him again, be sure to direct him towards me. Anything so finely made I would gladly pay a large amount for." With that, he directed his attention away from the bow and back to Link. "Very unusual for a boy such as yourself to be here in the castle, at Her Highness's request. She instructed the staff to treat any instructions or requests you gave as her own." He eyed Link appraisingly. "And hinted to me that if I could catch you down here training then I should take the opportunity to learn." A smile crested his face. "I'll be honest, I was skeptical as to what a lad your age could teach me, but after watching you shoot, perhaps I was wrong."

Link felt his face redden. Zelda told the captain of the guard to watch him train! He looked at the captain- he was a large, broad shouldered man, a couple inches taller than Link, with a fairly bushy mustache. Even without seeing him in action, he could tell that the captain knew how to handle himself, and was most likely at ease with a blade. He found himself agreeing with the captain's first opinion- What could he teach this man?

He coughed and muttered "Perhaps the princess overestimated my abilities." The captain stood for a moment, then quickly lashed out with his right hand. Link reacted without thinking; he ducked to the left, and countered quicker than the arrow he shot. Taken aback, the captain barely got his guard up in time but managed to block the lightning fast counter attack and the furious follow ups, eventually he caught one of his opponent's wrists and leveraged his superior strength to subdue the boy. Stopped cold, the familiar rush Link got when in combat subsided, and he became aware that e had just attacked the captain of the guard.

The captain only laughed a loud, raucous noise. "Yes. I was definitely wrong! I've never seen such a speedy combatant before! And while being taken by surprise? Magnificent!" He gave an approving slap on the shoulder. "My soldiers could definitely learn a few things from you! Perhaps sometime you could show them a thing or two?"

Relieved at the captain's reaction, he tentatively nodded. He wasn't sure about teaching the guards, but he could cross that bridge when he got there.

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Zelda sat in the council's room, meticulously reading and signing documents, release forms, resource requisitions, and monetary transfers. Such was what her day consisted of, the duties of one running a country. She had assumed the mantle at a young age- 17 when her father had died from poor health- but she had grown quite adept at it, leading her country with proficiency and excellence; that is, until Zant invaded and forced her to surrender, lest her people suffer. Granted, most of the country was spared desolation, but the effects of the war had severely affected Hyrule, her proficiency notwithstanding. All she had accomplished during her reign had been reduced to practically naught, and she had been left scrambling to pick up the pieces.

She rested her head on her hands. It was very discouraging to build something up and watch it become so successful only to have it torn down by an outside force, something that she couldn't fight. He suddenly felt older, much older than she was. How could she repair the damage that had been done?

She looked out the window, looking out at her kingdom. Gazing down to the courtyard she saw a green clad figure with another wearing armor, the armor of the captain of the guard. Both held bows, and were firing arrows at the targets downrange. She felt the warmth of a smile grace her face. After her father had died then the captain- Markus- had taught her how to run the country, had been her confidant for many years, and had even taught her the basics of swordplay. And Link had been the one to rescue her country from the destruction it most certainly would have faced. From the slight movements she observed- the captain leaning his head towards Link to listen better, the Hero holding out his bow to show the grip he used- it appeared the captain had listened to her hints about learning from Link, and the two were apparently becoming good friends.

For a moment she imagined her world without them- and very quickly her world became a nightmare. Without the captain she wouldn't have had anyone really since her parents had passed, no one to teach her the ways of leading, and without Link… Most likely she wouldn't have a kingdom to rule. After watching her country and its people ravaged to the breaking point, she didn't have any doubt that she would probably have been executed, publicly, to further destroy Hyrule.

The captain drew his bow back in the way Link had shown him, and the arrow sailed true and struck the target dead center. Link made a remark which caused the captain's laughter to echo up to Zelda's ears. She smiled. Surely with these two at her side she could make the right decisions. Thus reassured, she turned back to her papers.

AN- Liked it? Didn't? Review and tell me your thoughts please!

…..I'm loveofthegame117, and I approve this message =3


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note- Hello readers! This has been the longest time between updates to date, and I'm sorry it took this long. I've been going through some overall negative relationship issues, so I couldn't focus on the next chapter, but I finally got around school and my own laziness/ lethargy to get this finished. For all of you that waited for this, I thank you! And I also thank ShiverIntheLight and bindweed-flower for their reviews, and for those who have been wondering when something will be brought up or other questions about the story, I have a storyline in mind that I'm trying to play out, and I'll do my best to involve all the components, such as Zelink, wolf, etc., as I write. I started this fan fiction intending for it to be something completely different, only 1 or 2 chapters, and it's expanded far beyond that, so I have to go about it different. So yeah, that's about all the news I've got! Enjoy chapter 10 of Monster!

**Monster: Chapter 10**

A week had passed since Link and the captain had met, and already the captain had a large amount of respect for Link. It had been more difficult to gain the esteem of the guards, as most of them have simply thought of him as a soft farm boy. One of had attempted to challenge Link to a duel to prove himself.

You had to feel sorry for him. The guard, that is.

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Several guards surrounded the combatants in a rough circle. Many of them stood with crossed arms, watching the green clad boy, snorting derisively. Others were bolder, openly taunting the boy, or shouting encouragements to his opponent- a large, burly man by the name of Arthur. He didn't respond to any of the comments of shouts directed at him, but kept his eyes locked on the boy in front of him, scorn and conceit filling his gaze.

Finally they both rose, and the raucous audience silenced, everyone watching with baited breath to see who would strike first. The contenders stood stone still, studying their opponent's stance, gauging their chances.

Finally in a blur the smaller of the two shot forward and struck, a single openhanded blow to the crown. A collective gasp escaped the lips of every person in attendance, as the ill-fated challenger's eyes rolled back and he fell back from the force and precision of the strike.

All disbelieving eyes turned to the victor, some with fury, some with admiration, and some with naked astonishment. Without another word, Link turned and left the barracks.

He didn't feel joy, or a sense of accomplishment from the "victory," only weariness and regret. Why did he even respond to the crude insults that dripped with condescension? Did he really have to participate in the fight? No, but he had anyway. Hopefully that would buy him some time of respite from the guards.

He briefly considered turning back to his wolf form, but quickly squelched the urge- he had already made a mistake last time, and he couldn't afford another slip-up. That experience had served to show not only that changing wouldn't bring any sense of peace, but also to remind himself that the wolf wasn't a form of escape- it was a curse, something he must still seek to rid himself of. He shuddered. Should he lose control as a wolf-even if only once- it would be a disaster. No, he must never change again.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see the captain approaching. He stood to greet him. "Hello captain."

"Hello Link. I just came from the barracks and found my men standing around the unconscious form of Arthur, who had a large bruise on his head. I assume that you are the cause of this?" The man's tone was serious, but Link saw the amusement in his eyes.

"Yes sir, he insisted for me to prove myself to the guards. I tried my best to not bring too much harm to him." Link returned the serious tone, and his face could have been carved in stone.

They both stared at each other for a moment, both trying to outlast the other, but finally they both burst out laughing. For a moment Link forgot troubles as he simply laughed alongside the captain. Eventually after a full minute they calmed down, small chuckles still escaping their lips. "Nothing feels so good," the captain gasped "as laughing incredibly hard." Link nodded in agreement.

"Arthur always was too conceited for his own good. It's glad to see that someone brought him down to our level for once." The captain took a moment to catch his breath, and then stood from doubling over. "Changing subjects, the princess had requested to see you, and sent me to go find you."

Link was a little surprised. He hadn't seen Zelda much over the week, save for breakfast and dinner. Partially this was intentional; he found it hard to focus around her. He banished that thought; there was no reason to go down that road.

He followed the captain through the castle until they reached a room Link hadn't seen before. The captain gestured for him to go inside, which he did, and felt a twinge of uneasiness when the door shut behind him.

It was a fairly large room, with a window overlooking the courtyard, and a desk beside it. The other furniture in the room consisted of three chairs, a small table between two of them, and a shelf with books and various trinkets covering it.

Zelda stood in front of the shelf, her back turned to him. Her blonde hair was in her usual style, two braids framing her face and the hair down her back that ended in a small braid. Her dress was in the same style but slightly different. It seemed like it wasn't as ornate as usual, there weren't as many different pieces as there normally was, it was just a single piece, and a lighter spring green rather than purple.

She turned at the sound of the door and smiled at the sight of her friend. "Hello Link. How are you doing?"

Link stood, struggling not to say or do anything out of line. "I've been well, how have you been?"

"Very well, thank you." She motioned for him to sit, and they both sat. "I saw there was a disturbance down by the guards' barracks?" She arched one eyebrow questioningly. He proceeded to retell the account of his encounter with Arthur and the subsequent fight. The further he went into the story, the more surprise was evident on Zelda's face. By the end of the story, she sat openmouthed, then swallowed and composed herself, a smile playing around her lips. "That's quite a story."

Link suppressed a grin himself. "Yes, quite." And they both laughed.

Zelda recovered and began speaking again. "The reason I called you up here is because there have been some unusual stories and reports about a cave near Kakariko Village. If the reports are to be believed, the cave in question has strange markings and ruin-like formations near the mouth." She read off of a paper on her desk. "The ruins and markings look like the same sort that is often associated with Old Hyrule." She looked back up at Link. "I was going to personally investigate this cave, and I imagined you would like to accompany me. Would you like to come?"

Link agreed without hesitation. As he left the room to prepare, he could feel the Hero's Spirit stirring within him. Something was amiss, and it wanted to be involved.

AN- I'm already working on the next chapter! Thanks for reading, and I would love to know what you think about the story so far! Until next time!


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note- Hello everyone! This chapter is a little short, and its mostly just setting the stage for the next chapter, which will take a bit more time to explore the character's thoughts and feelings. So not much else to say about it, and thanks to Sorceress of the Fake, Lady Fai, and ShiverIntheLight for reviewing the last chapter! So, chapter eleven of Monster! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter 11**

It was a fairly breezy day near Kakariko, and the sparse clouds flew across the sky at a unusually fast pace. The late noon sun hung over the field, giving off a fair amount of heat, but not enough to become uncomfortable.

Four mounted figures road across the field, towards a nondescript opening in the ground. Link dismounted first, followed by the captain and then the princess. The last member of their party, a guard by the name of Carver stayed on his horse, watching the field.

Link was dressed in his usual Hero's Tunic and leggings, carrying his sword, shield, and bow along with a quiver of arrows. The captain wore a more conventional set of armor, better suited to mobility, rather than the decorative Captain's armor. The princess was the most changed- instead of her normal dress, she was dressed in form-fitting leather clothes and light armor. It had been a big surprise for Link to see her dressed in anything other than a dress, and but after the initial shock, he found he liked the fresh look.

None of this was foremost at his mind as he gazed down the cave. What was foremost at the young Hero's mind was all the potential dangers that could be within- traps, hidden drop-offs, creatures- after all he had seen, nothing would surprise him at this point.

Quick to recognize that whatever they were delving into it was anything but safe, Link swept out an arm indicating for his companions to stay back. Zelda, knowing of his experience with this type of thing, complied without question. The captain noticed and followed her lead, thoroughly intrigued as to what the boy would do.

Link edged carefully down the lip of the crevice as carefully as he could. Inch by inch he made his way along the wall, testing each step, once, twice, three times. Zelda and the captain watched with bated breath, each hoping that the goddesses would bless his movements. Perhaps they did, for Link almost made it to the bottom. Almost.

He took the step, knowing he had almost made it. He tested the ground once, and it held. Twice, it held. The third time he put his weight on it… and it showed no sign of weakness. Thus reassured, he moved forward, only to have rock shift precariously, and for a moment nothing happened. He was in the middle of thanking the goddesses when the ledge gave way.

Link heard a feminine scream as he fell, a sense of gut-wrenching free-fall, and the bone-jarring impact on the ground. He gasped, muscles struggling to suck air into his lungs. Finally after the fourth try air rushed to fill his chest. He lay there for a second, recuperating from the fall, then pushed himself up from where he lay.

"Link! Link!" He heard Zelda call his name. He looked up, and saw the point where the rock had broken away from the wall, almost ten to fifteen feet above where he stood. Zelda and the captain's concerned faces were framed against the sunlight, looking down at him.

"I'm ok!" He shouted back up. He turned his gaze to the environment around him. It looked like a natural cave formation. But as he looked closer, he saw the unnatural parts- stone formations with hieroglyphics that Link couldn't recognize. He brushed his hand against them, trying to discern the meaning of the strange symbols.

The letters were familiar, as if someone had taken the existing characters of Ancient Hylian and changed them into this. They exuded a slight glow, almost as if they had absorbed what little light that reached the bottom of the cavern. He also realized that warmth was also emanating from the letters.

He heard a shuffling above him and felt small stones and dust fall from above and looked up. Zelda was attempting to climb down, and from the look on the captain's face he had tried, and obviously failed, to convince her otherwise. "Zelda!" He shouted up at her, worried that the same mistake that he made would happen to her. And at the height she was at, that would do a lot more to her than knock the breath of her. It could kill her.

"Zelda! Stop!" Hyrule's ruler looked down at the boy. The worry both in the exclamations and the young face caused her resolve to waver. That half-second lapse in concentration was all that was needed for her to not watch her step.

For the second time in half as many minutes Link heard the crunch of cracking rock and the brief shriek as Zelda felt the ledge crumble beneath her. After that, Link heard nothing, saw nothing. Nothing existed anymore except for him and the falling princess. Within less a second he had analyzed all the facts and possibilities and he arrived at the only course of action.

He moved across the cavern to where the princess would fall and braced himself, and without a second to spare. The princess fell, into his waiting arms, and his legs buckled on impact, causing him to fall and further cushion her landing-with his own body.

"Your highness! Are you ok?" The captain shouted down the hole, keeping well away from the edge.

"Unhh, yeah, I think so. Link, are you ok?" She looked around, expecting to see him standing near her, but she didn't see him. "Link? Where are you?" Suddenly the ground underneath her moved and she shrieked, rolling off and away from it. When she stopped a good ten feet away from it, she looked at it cautiously. Her mind registered the green cloth and she knew what happened.

"Oh goddesses Link, I'm sorry." She went over to him and started helping him up. He seemed a little dazed, and weak from having the wind knocked out of him for the second time that day, but otherwise was ok.

He looked up at the entrance, where the captain stood watching them, obviously feeling a bit helpless. Link shouted up at him, voice hoarse from the previous falls. "There isn't anything you can do captain, at least not now on your own. Go back to the castle, get some extra men and equipment, and then come back. We'll be fine."

The captain opened his mouth to protest, but closed it and nodded. Without another word he disappeared from their sightline, and a few moments later they heard him saddling his horse and riding off.

Link walked away from the opening and sat down against the wall. After some hesitation, Zelda went over and sat down next to him. They sat in companionable silence for a while, and then Link turned to Zelda and asked "I don't suppose you know any stories do you?"

AN- So what did you think of it? Liked it, didn't? Leave a review, and tell me your thoughts! Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note- Hello everyone! Early update this time, yay! I might change the update day to Friday, assuming I can get the chapters finished in time. There isn't much action in this chapter, mostly exploring what's going on in the two character's mind at this point. So that's about all I've got to say! Thanks to ShiverIntheLight, Sorceress Of The Fake, Lady Fai, and a guest that reviewed the last chapter! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter Twelve**

Zelda had spent the rest of the day in the cave talking with Link. It felt good to be able to drop all the stature and stiffness that came with being a princess and talk to Link like a normal person. They told each other of their respective lives, related stories of specific events they had experienced, and gradually learned everything about each other bit by bit.

She had learned of how he had never knew his parents, but been raised by Rusl and his wife Uli, and that Rusl was also the one that taught him how to use a sword. He told her of the children in Ordon: Talo, Malo, Colin, Beth, and Ilia. Ilia had been his childhood friend for as long as he could remember, but there had been a shift in that relationship when she had suffered from the amnesia, and from the brief forlorn tone in his voice and the sadness in his expression, it hadn't been for the better. Zelda could sense there were details he wasn't sharing, but she decided to not pry.

Zelda, in turn, told him of her childhood, how she didn't know her mother well, and she had been raised by her father to be a ruler, receiving the best education and instruction in politics, negotiation, and other skills she would require. She had very little contact with others her age, and those that she did often were of the higher classes, and were generally snobby. She told him of her father's death and how the captain subsequently began continuing to raise her and gave her cursory training in swordplay; the armor she now wore was a gift from him.

After a brief hesitation, she began to share her side of the story during the war with Zant. Detail by detail she laid out the despair of her defeat and captivity, and the fear she felt afterwards, doubt in herself of her ability to lead the country. After the tale was told, they sat in solemn silence, and he set a supporting hand on her shoulder. A bit startled by the personal gesture, she welcomed it, and put her hand on top of his.

They sat that way for a while, neither moving nor speaking, when finally they decided to move deeper into the cave, to see what they could find. Link proceeded first, using the same excruciating caution as earlier, one step at a time, always watching for drop-offs or other hazards. Zelda followed closely behind, mimicking his movements, and quietly wondering to herself about many different things: how were they going to get out of there, what could be down here, and why she had so readily shared some of her deepest fears and thoughts to Link, who, despite their apparent close bond, hadn't spent virtually any time with. So why was she willing to spill her life story, her worst fears and almost everything about her, and accepted such a familiar gesture as he had given?

Could she possibly-

"Stop!" Link's voice shook her from her train of thought. They stood in front of a rather large hole in the ground, too deep and dark to see the bottom. Link's arm was stretched out in front of her, blocking her from the lip of the cavern by inches. She looked over at him and saw the worry and confusion. "Zelda? Are you ok? That was a bit too close; you never even noticed the hole, when it's right in front of you." He looked concerned, something Zelda found both touching, but she also panicked a bit, especially because of her recent train of thought.

She didn't answer, and Link decided to let it go for now. Inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn't quite ready to share her thoughts just yet. They continued just as they had before.

As Link led on, his mind wandered back to the same thoughts that unknowingly his companion also thought. He was concerned for her, why had she nearly walked right into that hole? She had looked like she was thinking pretty deeply. That didn't necessarily worry Link, but after what had just transpired, it gave him the extra initiative to periodically look over to make sure she was ok, which she always was. No doubt the close call had shocked her out of her reverie.

For a moment, he allowed himself to wonder for a moment what she could be thinking about. They certainly had talked about a lot; there could be any number of topics on her mind. He had been a bit self-conscious to tell her of his whole life, but he didn't regret it. He didn't see any reason to hide his past from her. Could it be due to the Hero's spirit constantly needling him to care and watch out for her? He already found himself dreading the moment when she might bring up the hand on the shoulder; it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. It was awkward enough with his hidden feelings, and now wasn't the time to let spill such thoughts, not when they were in such a potentially dangerous place as this.

Instinct brought him up short and before his mind had caught up he whirled around and let a rock he didn't remember picking up fly at the slight noise he had heard. The rock clanged and shattered against a plate of metal bigger than Link's torso. Thought caught up with him and he looked over to where Zelda was standing, hand raised protectively over her chest, wide eyes staring back at Link. He checked the path the rock had followed…it had come closer than a foot from hitting her. He winced. "Sorry."

To her credit she recovered quickly from having nearly been hit by a lightning fast stone. She gave a breathy laugh and lowered her hand in an embarrassed manner. Satisfied that she was unharmed, Link turned to the point of impact of the rock; what he saw was a piece of rusted metal embedded in the wall. He went over and took a closer look, but much of it what he took to be inscriptions of words were illegible, both from the rust and the effect of time. What little he could make out appeared to be in the same language as the earlier inscriptions. Giving up on the words, he took a step back and looked at the metal. It was made of a black, burnished material, similar to what the Darknut he had fought in the Temple of Time had worn. He looked around for more pieces of what he thought was armor, and was rewarded with an old shoulder piece

Zelda took a step closer to the armor, repeating Link's motions, brushing a hand over it, looking closely at the writing. Finally she stood up from her observations. "I've never seen this sort of dialect anywhere but in these ruins. It looks very familiar, but I can't tell what they mean." She looked to Link. "Whatever we found, it's something even more ancient than the Hero's Age." A chill ran through Link's spine. Older than the Hero's Age? The ramifications were of this information was unsettling.

They proceeded, encountering various other unusual landmarks, varying from an unnatural rock formation to blatant evidence that this place did not belong. The rock changed as they ventured further, from the gray, white-flecked stone which was common to a lighter, yellowish rock. Zelda rubbed her hand against it and bits of the porous material cascaded from the wall in a way that reminded Link of snowfall. "Sandstone." She said, brow knitted in concentration. "Why would sandstone be here? It only appears all the way across the country." Without further explanation she went on, and after a brief look at the stone wall, Link followed.

Finally they stopped and sat to rest, mostly for the princess's benefit. Although Link found it impressive that she could continue for as long as she had, it was clear the ruler of Hyrule wasn't as accustomed to the amount of physical activity as the Hero of Twilight was. Nevertheless, it was a good five minutes before Link was able to convince the headstrong princess to stop.

They sat, panting slightly. The path wasn't a difficult one, but it wasn't like walking in the streets of Castle Town, and they had been walking for about half an hour. Link let his gaze wander around his surroundings, but there wasn't much to see. The sandy walls and floor, punctuated every now and then by irregularities or a different kind of stone, the ceiling which was comfortably high enough, but dipped low in some places, and it stretch on for as far back as he could see.

The only other thing in the cave was the princess, whose breathing had settled and she was now staring at the wall so intensely it could collapse from the force of her gaze. Link wasn't particularly skilled at reading people, but he could tell that she was thinking intensely about something, and whatever it was she couldn't seem to resolve it.

For a while he sat studying her, the thoughtful look on her fair face, the burning intensity in her gaze, and for a moment he didn't bother denying it or contradicting it, he knew that he indeed felt for her, and looking at her it wasn't hard to understand why. Everything from the grace in movement and mind from being brought up as a ruler, to the intelligence and beauty that she owed no credit to for but she, Zelda was a unique and special person. Link imagined the endless snide remarks from that would've come from Midna if she were here and knew what he was thinking, but banished it from his head; it was painful to think of his old friend. To distract himself both from the thought of the Twilight Princess and the thoughts in his head that he became aware of he wondered what she could be thinking about that could possibly cause her so much frustration.

Zelda was locked in a mental debate similar to her companion's, and no matter how long or how logically she approached it, she couldn't find a rational, clear answer, which only served to further irritate her. She had told him everything about her life, admitting and sharing things that she hadn't spoken to anyone else that she could remember, despite that she hadn't spent any time with him before. _"You told him just for the sake of conversation. Alone in the cave, there wasn't much you could do other than talk"_ she thought to herself, but the side of her that knew the truth countered _"Why did you talk to him about your life? There was any number of topics you could've discussed, but you told him about your life." _She huffed to herself. She wasn't making this easy.

She looked over to her cohort, who was currently intensely studying the wall opposite to him. His blonde hair had fallen over his forehead, partially the furrowed brow indicating he was deep in thought. She considered him thoughtfully- he definitely had a certain roughness from working in the ranch and from living the way he had while on his quest to save Hyrule. Intelligent cerulean eyes, sharply defined features, and the undeniable handsomeness to his face, combined with his personality- selfless, kind, brave, and the right touch of shyness- made him the kind of guy many girls dream of.

For a moment she pretended she wasn't a princess that she didn't have the standards to adhere to like she so dearly wished she could forget, and imagined herself a normal girl that had grown up like he had. If they were both normal citizens, could they be together?

As Zelda watched, Link turned and they made eye contact. After a moment, they both looked away, embarrassed. Both thought "No way were they thinking about me."

As Link looked the opposite direction from the princess, he noticed there was another hole in the path. He was about to dismiss it, when he noticed that unlike the others, he couldn't see the other end. He got up and started walking towards the lip, but when he got there, it was not what he expected.

"Zelda! Look here, quick!" Zelda got up quickly and ran towards the barely defined silhouette of Link. When she got there, she stood beside him, speechless. Both turned to each other, eyes asking their companion "Can you see that? Are we crazy?" In their eyes they knew the answer.

The hole was not a hole, but an enormous cavern, high enough that they couldn't see the top. About ten feet below where they stood was the bottom, but instead of rock, it was coated in sand as far as they could see. There were not just ruins, but perfectly preserved stone arches and structures, all lit by forever-burning torches set around them. But it wasn't this, or the size, or even the ruins that caused them to mouth silently "Goddesses above."

In the center of the cavern was an enormous sphinx, carved directly into the entrance of a colossal temple.

AN- Cliffhanger! Kind of. So, did you like it? Maybe didn't? Leave a review please, and tell me what you thought!

Oh, and um, Borderlands 2 will be coming out this upcoming week, and I am super excited about it! So if any of you also are planning to buy/play it, PM me and we may be able to wreak havoc in Pandora together! Unrelated bit of information, but felt like it was ok to put that out there. Not too out of line, I hope? Anyways, thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note- Hello everyone! Late update, again, and if you read the ending author's note on the last chapter you can probably guess why… Don't judge me XD. Anyways, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Interesting, I guess. Definitely interested to hear what you all think of it! So thanks miano53, Lady Fai, DeathScythesandTwinPistols, ShiverIntheLight, and an unnamed Guest for their reviews! And I also want to thank all the reviewers I've had, you guys are the best! Random moment of gratitude. So, moving on, chapter thirteen of Monster! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter 13**

"Just jump, you'll be fine!" Link shouted up to Zelda who stood ten feet above him looking down at him as if he were crazy. "I caught you last time, I can do it again!"

Zelda shouted back "Last time you fell over trying to catch me, remember?" She certainly did, and although she wasn't hurt, she had no intention of jumping down the distance. "Why don't we wait for the captain when he comes back, then we can climb down!"

Link shook his head. "He won't be back until tomorrow at least, and about last time, regardless of what happened to me, you weren't hurt were you?" She hesitated, and shook her head. "Then you'll be fine! And besides, this isn't like last time where I had less than a second to get ready and it was hard rock to land on, this time I'm ready and there's sand below me!" Zelda looked at him, then at the drop, and decided he was right. She took a deep breath, and with a shriek, jumped.

Link stood and readied himself, legs braced and arms reaching out to catch her. Just like he promised, she landed directly in his arms, but she didn't open her eyes. "See, that wasn't so hard." She looked up to see where she was and smiled, about to reply, when they both realized the awkward state of their position- her in his arms bridal style, her arms still wrapped around his neck from the fear of falling- and he set her down and she let go of him, both of their cheeks burning.

To distract themselves from the past moment, Zelda began moving towards the nearest ruins- in this case, a large pillar partially submerged in the sand. Close by were two other pillars, one still standing and another leaning against it. The position of the rocks suggested it had once been an arch, but had fallen over the years. A closer look revealed that the pillars weren't solid rock, but rather bricks and chunks of rocks constructed into large columns. There wasn't much to see other than that, but Zelda busied herself studying it anyways, carefully avoiding eye contact with her companion.

Link's eyes swept the surrounding plain, worry lines forming beneath his blonde bangs. Something about this place didn't feel right, but it felt strangely familiar too. He could see where the bricks were supposed to be, known that an oasis stood just beyond their line of view. He reached inward to discover how he knew this, and the Hero's Spirit answered.

"I know this place." He whispered softly, quiet enough that it wouldn't arouse suspicion, but nevertheless, Zelda turned sharply to face him.

"What did you say?"

"I know this place. Or rather, _he _knows this place." He gave emphasis on the word to tell where he thought this innate knowledge was coming from. Once he started reaching towards this spirit, the information flowed easily. "He calls it the Spirit Temple. It's apparently a place of great significance." Zelda's brow knitted together, but she nodded for him to continue. "He visited here many times, both as a young boy and an adult." A wave of victory came from the spirit, but it cooled with regret. "Judging from the emotions I'm getting, it sounds like a great triumph happened here, but something sad too, something he regrets." He reached further, but the Spirit had withdrawn, either unwilling or unable to offer any more information.

Zelda returned her gaze to the monoliths, and then the large feminine figure carved into the enormous wall. "I've seen this figure before." She said, as softly as Link had spoken. "There was a statue at the Arbiter's Ground that looked like this one." She turned back to the waiting Hero. "I also knew of the Spirit Temple you spoke of, although I had no idea it would be what we found. I always imagined it would be lost in the Gerudo Desert, or perhaps the Arbiter's Ground itself was the Spirit Temple. I never imagined it would be here," She gestured up to the large statue" Hidden in a huge underground cavern."

Link had to agree it was incredible that this had been hidden for so long. But he was curious as to exactly how Zelda knew of this structure, and what its importance was. "So what exactly is it?"

Zelda sat on the fallen pillar and motioned for Link to do the same. "The Spirit Temple was one of the eight 'dungeons' that the Hero of Time faced and cleared during his quest, and the Spirit Temple was the eighth and final dungeon. It was here he fought two witches of incredible power, and retrieved an object of equal power and importance, although history has failed to provide specifics."

The Spirit revived for a moment and projected confirmation to her words, but before he could catch hold of it, it sank away from him. He resolved to later confront this spirit, he was growing weary of it coming and, usually when he needed it, disappearing.

He glanced back up to the carving. It looked like it was a great deity, but it felt comforting almost, a protector of those that wandered her domain. His gaze trawled downwards and he noticed something he hadn't before: an entrance. He pointed it out to Zelda, and looked at her, an adventurous and slightly mischievous glint surfacing in his eye for a moment. After a long moment of studying the entrance, she nodded.

Link proceeded first, sword hand twitching as he looked cautiously around for enemies or traps. After he was satisfied that the area was reasonably safe, he motioned the princess forward. It was a fairly large room, well above the usual height of the castle ceilings. There were two large cobra heads reared to strike flanking the five foot wide staircase that led up to a higher platform. Leading from the higher ground were two exits, one a space so small almost nobody but a child could fit in it, the other a large doorway that looked like it had once been blocked by something.

The pair looked around; staring in awe of the ancient relic they stood in. Link felt the Hero's Spirit stir again, almost as if it was looking around, reminiscing of the adventure he had experienced. For a moment, Link shared a moment of kinship with the Spirit, looking at the room and imagining what trials and traps could lay within. Rapidly the place morphed from a thing of beauty to a nightmare and he glanced over his shoulder to make sure no evil being was sneaking up on them.

Zelda looked around, equally in reverence of the grand palace-like chamber. She had spent long hours of her life looking through books and tomes reading of such places, and now she finally stood in one. It was magnificent.

"We need to be careful." Zelda looked over at the Hero of Twilight. He didn't return her gaze, but kept his eyes on the exits and shadows. "We don't know what could be in this place, and I'm not particularly eager to find out." He finally glanced at her, eyes imploring that she would listen to his words of caution. She nodded without hesitation.

Assured that his friend would be alert to any dangers, he started to move forward and beckoned for her to follow. They walked up the staircase and to the small hole in the wall up against the ground. Link kneeled beside it and tried to see if he could crawl through, but to no avail. He stood up, shook his head, and they walked across to the other exit.

Link's suspicions of the once blocked entrance were correct, a large block of white-flecked black rock, polished to a shining sheen. Link tried and found it was impossible to move, it was simply too heavy. Moving past the stone they discovered shallow gouges in the ground. Link bent down and brushed a hand over the trench; his eyes followed it to a hole in the wall, about 6 feet wide in diameter. "Boulders." He said. He was familiar with the hazard. Without any further explanation they moved on.

There wasn't much else to see in the room, a few empty chests that had been opened, looted, and left behind. The other rooms were similar- the Hero had come, defeated and disarmed the guardians and traps, collected whatever loot that was to be found, and moved on to the next room. Many of the rooms contained clear evidence that those fights had not been easy. One room specifically had an area that looked too much like a very, _very_ large bloodstain. As he knelt beside it, wondering how the Hero could have been wounded as bad as the stain suggested, it happened.

He could see the battle, all through the Hero's eyes. There was an enormous monster in front of him, carrying an axe bigger than Link. He could tell by the way his view was staggering unevenly that his predecessor was in trouble. His eyes looked down to see a scary red stain on the middle of the green tunic. A deep rumble that sounded like laughter emanated from the armored figure.

The Hero fell to his knees, sword dropping from his hand, shield hanging limply. He could sense the unbearable regret that his mentor felt, regret at failure, regret that he couldn't save the world, couldn't save his friends. His vision began to dim as the eyelids slid shut.

Out of nowhere a shower of pink sparks flew around him and instantly the vision shot open, a flash of energy soared threw his nerves and without thinking he rolled away from the finishing blow the beast was in the process of delivering. In a glimpse he noticed a freed fairy flit away from the stain on the ground. He sensed a grin begin to spread across his face. He was back in the game.

As soon as it began it ended. With a gasp Link returned to reality; none of it was real, it was only the past, not his life, and he wasn't in a battle, despite how real it felt. He was only remembering a battle of the Hero; he was in an empty room, with nothing else.

"Link? Are you ok?" Oh. Almost empty. He looked up to see concerned blue eyes staring back at him. "You just passed out and woke up in a cold sweat, what happened?'

He sat up; glad to see that there wasn't any soreness or pain. "I had a dream, no, a vision. Of what the Hero did in here." He looked around the room in a fresh light. "He was battling this enormous behemoth, and it nearly killed him." He didn't like the feeling that the beast might still be here. Still carefully watching the corners, he said with urgency underlying the words "Let's keep moving."

Nothing supernatural happened in the next room, or the next. Eventually the came to a room different from the others, and by different it had several pieces of armor scattered around the room. At the far end of the room was a large throne, big enough that Link could guess what foe could've rested in it. Add this to the size of the armor pieces and his suspicions were confirmed, it was the same monstrosity that had appeared in his vision. These pieces of armor didn't look the same as the one he had seen, they seemed more decorative than the other and- he bent down beside the chest piece, trying to decide if he was right or not- more feminine? He waited with bated breath to see if the Spirit would offer up another vision or an explanation, but it remained silent.

Zelda kneeled beside him, and reached for the armor. After a while, she let go, panting. "It's too heavy." He could believe it; it looked to weigh at least fifty pounds. He tried to flip it over, and after much exertion, managed to tip it over enough that gravity could finish the job. Thanking him, Zelda cast a fresh eye over the breastplate, and when she stood up she confirmed his suspicions. "I think this piece of armor was meant for a woman, the difference is barely noticeable, but the angles and curves seem to match.

Link nodded and looked over the room again. Something tugged him towards the center of the room, where the armor was most concentrated. From the position of the pieces, and the intuition inside of him, it looked as if it had fallen off of a standing figure. With a surge the Spirit supplied the missing pieces- a woman dressed in strange garb kneeling in the middle of the armor, the Hero standing in front of her, his face hidden from view. It was there for a flash, and then it was gone. When it ended, he was still standing, though his muscles were locked tight so that he doubted a Goron could've made him move.

He felt a warm touch on his shoulder and his muscles relaxed instantly. He looked over and sure enough Zelda was standing at his shoulder. Her eyes inquired the same question she had asked before, and he nodded. Not convinced, she exerted more effort on his shoulder and turned him towards her. "Link, are you sure you're all right? You're scaring me, zoning out like you have been." After a moment's hesitation, he nodded again.

"I'm fine Zelda. Really." She didn't look convinced, but the force in her hand slackened and a resigned look appeared on her face. Link looked past her pensive face to notice a door that he hadn't seen before. Maneuvering around the girl in front of him, he moved towards it.

Through the door was another cavernous room, with a large fifteen square foot platform, and four smaller platforms at each corner. Link jumped and caught the edge of the largest podium, then turned to pull Zelda up. Both stood beside each other, looking around this newest room. It appeared to be a simple place, but under closer observation revealed its significance- the platforms formation, the fading scorch marks around the room- was all tantamount to that this was an arena, the purpose of which Link was all too familiar with. Old scars tingled again as he recalled the toughest enemies he had ever fought- Morpha, Stallord, Argorock- this was the dungeon's boss.

Out of nowhere, the flashback hit, a giant of a woman hovered in front of him. An arrogant smile was on her face, but he could see she was hurt badly, tired; that gave him a grim sense of satisfaction, she was losing. He looked around to find the Hero, but was shocked to see Zelda standing beside him, and from the way she was looking back, she was just as surprised. "L-Link," she stuttered "what's happening?

"Um, I'm not sure. I think this is one of the flashbacks." He looked around and spotted the Hero, but His back was turned to them again. Link approached him, hoping to finally see what his predecessor looked like, but before he could reach Him, a stream of energy burst from His shield causing him to instinctively backpedal from the beam.

With a screech the hovering woman began to glow. Link thought she was melting, but when the shining light faded, it revealed two smaller witches, one obviously attributed to fire and the other to ice. They bickered for a moment, although through the turmoil and the nature of the flashbacks Link was unable to clearly understand what they were saying. The two sorceresses rose into a column of light and disappeared.

The Hero, exhausted as he was, displayed strength, no doubt from the prospect that this could finally be at an end. He walked forward to claim his heart container, and stepped into a glowing blue circle, and the two spectators squinted to shield their eyes from the intense light.

Link opened his eyes, expecting to find themselves back in their time, the flashback having ended, and yelped when he saw they were standing on a large pedestal, surrounded by smaller stones. He couldn't tell if they were in another cave or not, he couldn't see a sky, but neither the ceiling nor the floor, or even the walls were visible.

"Disorienting isn't it?' Both he and Zelda whipped around to see a man standing on one of the surrounding platforms. Both drew a shocked breath- the stranger wore the same tunic as Link, although slightly less time worn, but it wasn't this, or the sudden appearance, it was his face.

The newcomer looked exactly like Link.

The clone went on, either unaware, or uncaring of their reaction. "I remember when I first found myself here. Of course, I was ten years old, and half asleep. Or dead, I still haven't decided which it was, and believe me when I say I've had plenty of time to make a decision."

Zelda's face took the same expression she got when she was putting together the pieces to solve the problem. The figure turned his attention to her, and his face softened. "You look so much like her."

Link jerked out of his stupor at the mention of his companion. He half raised his arm protectively. "Who are you?"

The stranger gazed upon him with an expression of a disappointed parent. "I'm sorry you haven't guessed Link." Link flinched at his name. How did this person know? "I'm you."

Suddenly it became clear. The Hero's tunic on the stranger, the confidence radiating from his figure, even the face seemed familiar, and not because it was his own. Link knew who it was before Zelda told him.

"Link, that's the Hero of Time." She looked back at the now identified Hero with awe. The Hero broke into a large grin.

"Obviously you've inherited her brains too, well done!" Link wasn't quite sold yet, but he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"How are you here? Why?" He struggled to process the scene before him. If this was the Hero, he had passed on centuries ago? Aside from that, why was he here?

"Gets right to the point this one. Wants to know what's going on, and what he needs to do. Having gone through the trials we have, that's to be expected." Grin not fading, he leapt from his perch, landing lightly before them. "To answer your first, the plane we are standing is known as the Chamber of Sages. The laws and rules of Hyrule don't always apply here. In this case, time. During your viewing of my past, you were transported here, and because time does not apply here, I am here as I should be, and you as you are. It matters not whether we are from the same era of not. Do you understand?"

Zelda nodded, and Link, for some reason did not want to be upstaged, nodded. Inside though his head still whirled, what in Din's name did the Hero mean? Time didn't apply here?

The Hero pressed on. "To answer your second question, I've been seeking a way to better communicate with you. Although useful in some cases, the connection we share does have faults, namely the lack of ability to speak." A wry expression crossed his face. "I've sensed your frustration for this obstacle as well." Link agreed heartily. "Well fortunately we don't have that problem here." The familiar grin returned.

"First I would like to address the issue that has dominated your thoughts as of late." He directed these words to Link. "Trust me, I know you're scared now, but it'll get better. It did for me." He winked, and Link blushed the brightest shade of crimson possible. Zelda was thoroughly mystified, what could dominate her friend's thoughts so completely that he was so embarrassed about?

"Second, about the difficulties with your beast spirit- I've been doing what little I can to suppress it with sheer dominance of my own spirit, but it will have to be resolved. I do not have a solution for it at the moment, but as a temporary fix strive to keep yourself away from the crystal." Link's hand immediately went to the pocket in which said crystal was kept. "Keep working on finding a solution. Zelda glanced sharply over to her companion, had he been keeping the full extent of this problem from her? She didn't interrupt, it wouldn't help to confront him now.

"And lastly, it seems both of you are interested in Old Hyrule, specifically why the land has changed and the Ocarina of Time." Both of his audience's heads instantly shot up to look at him intently. "I don't know where the Ocarina is at the time, but look for the site of Kakariko Village or the Shadow Temple, that was the last known resting place I know of."

"Um, but if the land has changed, how could we possibly know where to look? They could be anywhere?" Zelda asked, not understanding why the Hero would give them such an impossible task.

"Think Zelda, you know this. Why was the Spirit Temple in the same place it was centuries ago?"

Her brow knit together, thinking. Link was surprised by how quickly she looked back up, a knowing light dancing in her eyes. "The temples don't change places because they are sacred areas, sacred ground."

"Exactly!" The Hero cried ecstatically. "You really are more like her than I thought." Without any further explanation, he bid them farewell. "Both of you are doing extremely well. I'm sorry that this can't last much longer. If you want to speak to me again, then find another place where the flashbacks will take you here, I will tell you, link, when you are close to an area that will suffice." Intense pride shown in his eyes as he looked them over one last time. "Goodbye, for now." And with a blinding flash, he disappeared.

AN- Sooo what'dya think? Leave a review and tell me what you think, please! Thanks for reading, and ill see you all with the next chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note- Hello everyone! Once again, sorry for the unexpected long update time, I swear I'm not meaning to do this on purpose. In addition, this is a relatively short chapter because I was just desperate to get something published. Anyways, thanks to miano53, Lady Fai, sippurp123, bindweed-flower, ShiverIntheLight, guest, guest, and guest. So, Chapter 14 of Monster! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter 14**

Zelda gasped for air as she descended from the vision. She wasn't sure why she was out of breath, whether it was an effect of the transition, or the psychological effect of them, but all she knew is that there was no air in her lungs, and she was trying to remedy that.

She felt a hand on her back and managed to look up to see Link above her. He must be more accustomed to either the visions' effect or having the breath knocked out of him. He patted her gently and spoke words of encouragement. Eventually she felt her lungs fill, and she spoke her thoughts on the experience. "That was awesome."

He laughed, and she felt her cheeks burn. Awesome? Not exactly the proper choice of words for a soon-to-be monarch. But she didn't care; he wasn't going to reprimand her for her choice of words.

She stood up from her doubled over position. There was nothing different in the room from last they saw it. But as her eyes swept over the wall, a sinking feeling settled in her chest. "There isn't any exit Link."

He turned to where they had entered and saw that indeed a large slab of stone blocked their way out. He turned back to her, no worry on his face. "There has to be some way out of here, the Hero proved that." But as he walked around the cavernous area, probing walls, looking for a chink, moving air, anything that represented a way out, he realized Zelda was right. There wasn't any kind of exit forthcoming.

He walked back to where she had been sitting and sat heavily down next to her. "Well..." Was all he had to say for a while. She didn't ask for clarification. There wasn't any needed.

After a few minutes of forlorn silence, Zelda voiced her thoughts. "Um, Link?" He turned to her; she bit her lip, nervous. "What was the Hero talking about, when he said the issue that's been dominating your thoughts lately?" His elven features shone the same bright shade of crimson that he had earlier and mumbled something quickly, to quiet for her to hear. This only further goaded her curiosity.

"Please Link; what is it you could have to hide from me?" He risked a glance at her face and instantly regretted it. Her fair face pleaded for answer, blue eyes big and questioning. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, taking as much time as he could spare. He could feel the Spirit needling him inside, and was too keenly aware of how much like a cherry his face must look now. Holding the Triforce of Courage wasn't helping much now, was it?

Finally he forced himself to look back at her, and gathered what little courage he could spare, he opened his mouth to speak, desperately praying to the Goddesses that he wouldn't regret this, that he wouldn't say something stupid, that she would be gracious-

A loud clatter interrupted him, and they both looked to the direction that it had come.

Another crash, seemingly louder than the first, sounded from the same stretch of wall. Both Jumped from where they sat, Link's blade already drawn and held in the direction of the offending noise. He heard a ring of steel behind him and knew that Zelda had come prepared as well. As the crashes continued he wished he had brought his bow or at least a knife to throw.

Finally a crack appeared in the wall, right where the door had been. Another crash, and a crack to go along with it. Link's muscles tensed, another blow and the door would break apart. He heard a sharp intake of breath behind him, and then the door shattered.

He leapt forward in an instant, moving like water, fluid and graceful. In mere seconds he had dropped from the platform, rolled and got up running without ever breaking stride. His sword cut through the haze of dust, then vibrated painfully as it struck another blade, he had retreated and swung twice more before the smoke cleared enough for him to see the Hyrulean crest on the armor of his would-be foe.

The opponent took advantage of his distraction to attempt to disarm the Hero, but hard earned reflexes nullified any advantage the enemy had. Within seconds the offending blade clattered to the ground. Instead of the usual finishing blow he would normally deal, Link held the blade loosely, unsure whether to strike or not. Finally the dust settled completely, no longer aggravated by the duel, and a familiar face gazed back at him

"Perhaps we could go two out of three, Link?" Captain Markus's welcome voice echoed through the room. Behind him were four soldiers, two of which Link recognized, Arthur and Carver. All were equipped with as little armor as possible, presumably to reduce weight, and carried knives about 7 inches from pommel to tip of the blade, and various ropes and anchors for descending the entrance of the cave.

"Captain!" Link was overjoyed to see his friend. "How did you get here so fast?"

The captain cocked his head quizzically. "What do you mean Link? A full day has passed since you and Her Highness fell into here." He glanced around. "Wherever "here" is."

Link glanced back at Zelda, whose expression reflected his confusion. How had a full day passed? When he turned back to the captain, whose puzzlement had multiplied, he suddenly felt the need to be away from this place, where he could sort this out away from prying ears. "Perhaps we should get Her Highness back to her castle. We'll explain everything on the way and on arrival." He turned and spoke over his shoulder while he moved towards the princess. The fall, while not particularly dangerous, still was enough that he would help her down. And it also gave him the opportunity to let unbridled confusion wash across his face. He would have much to discuss with the captain on the way back, and even more to ponder to himself.

AN- So what did you think? Liked it, didn't? Leave a review, please, and tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note- I published two chapters this time, the main author's note will be in the next.

**Monster: Chapter 15**

Link paced in his room, occasionally stopping to sit on his bed or sharpen his sword and knives, or count and recount his arrows. He had been like this for hours, not stopping, a tray of food had been brought up after he failed to show to lunch, but it lay untouched on his table. Various books he had retrieved from the library lay beside the food, open to different places, depicting crudely drawn medallions and structures housed within volcanoes and forests and lakes.

He didn't know what he was looking at, or how he had found them. There was no caption to the images, no explanation as to what they were. He had wandered through the library, arbitrarily picking books from shelves. He had spent the whole night reading through them, only to come no closer to figuring out what he was looking at or why. Finally he gave in and threw himself on the bed, energy spent.

Above him Princess Zelda was behaving similarly, wandering around her room. At her desk were multiple sketches and narratives, all of things she couldn't quite explain. She had been seemingly at random falling in and out of consciousness and with each period of sleep a different dream came, showing or telling something different each time. Some were familiar, such as the story of the goddesses and the Triforce, or the then- prophecy of the Hero of Time. Others were completely unfamiliar, such as a large opening with a pedestal in front of it emblazoned with a strange symbol, all in front of a graveyard. Another was a large castle made of black stone, floating above a large swirling pool of magma. Yet another was a familiar temple made of sandstone, the front dominated by a carving of a woman above the entrance.

She looked down at the drawings. Most were quick sketches of her visions, some incomplete, most crude at best. The narratives beside them told of the dreams, or as she had unconsciously began to call them, visions, in as much detail as she could remember, which was quite a lot, more than she could ever remember of her normal dreams.

She walked away from her desk and sat at her bed, frustration multiplying. After nearly an entire night contemplating all the questions that had been piling up since their excursion to the cave outside Kakariko Village she was no closer to solving any of them. What did these visions mean? Where had they come from? Why, and why now? Why was the Hero connecting to her and Link? And, more or less the largest question on her mind, what had the Hero been alluding to the "thought that had been dominating his thoughts of late?" She wasn't entirely comfortable of how much she had been pondering all she knew of Link and his private life to satisfy her curiosity. She hadn't stalked him, nothing of the sort, but she certainly had spent much more time than usual (which, she had to admit, was a lot) thinking of him. As soon as this thought passed through her head, she felt a mixture of embarrassment and a peculiar rush.

Shaking herself from the almost girlish wave of feeling, she moved back to more practical issues. She didn't glance at the papers as she shoved them into a drawer. Out of sight, out of mind. She had a kingdom to maintain, and she could deal with this later.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note- Hello everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! Two short chapters instead of the usual one short-to-mid length chapter, and both mostly filler. Thanks to ShiverIntheLight, sippurp123, Secret, Lady Fai, miano53, and a guest for their reviews, and thank you all for your patience.

**Monster: Chapter 16**

Link sat up in a tree near the castle gate, straddling a wide limb about ten feet above the ground. Epona whickered some distance away, grazing peacefully. In his lap was a penknife, a unique piece that he had crafted himself. A simple, albeit ingenious design by Shad allowed small amounts of ink to be stored within the pen, negating the need to carry a quill and inkwell, and only the device was needed. A small blade was attached to the other end, covered by leather sheathing. The blade was so thin it would be useless for anything other than cutting paper perhaps food, but Link kept it just as sharp as his sword and dagger, that is, sharp enough to shave with.

A book of bound paper rested on his knee, closed, which Link braced the knife against as he gently sharpened it. The book was something he had picked up from the desk in his chambers. It had been blank when he had picked it up, but the first third of the pages were now covered with drawings, journal entries, and stories. Link had never been much of an artist, but he had always felt at ease writing. When he still lived at Ordon, whenever he was working or when he couldn't sleep and he would climb up to the roof of his house, he would create stories in his head. Weave words and characters into dramas, comedies, tragedies, and romances. He remembered each and every one of them, every character he had thought up, all of the kingdoms, countries, worlds they inhabited. He loved them all.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree and began to think. He started with a setting. In seconds details sprung to his mind- a land of long, rolling hills of bright green grass, the kind that you could spend all day rolling in and running in. At the edge you could glimpse a thick forest, composed of tall pine trees. When the breeze blew the right way, you could smell the faint pine scent. Turning to your left you could see the hills rise into picturesque snow-capped mountains. On your right was more rolling plain that gradually flattened into prairie land, and turning a full 180 degrees was gradually climbing highlands, where at the top was a village, composed of stone houses with thatched roofs, populated by simple, light-hearted folk, the kind of place where all knew everyone else and supported each other.

His mind's eye searched this village, until he found a young man, not much older than he. His hair was short, brown, and hung around his head in a way that caused it to look longer than it was. His handsome face was lightly tanned, with green eyes the color of the foamy sea that lay beyond sight, past the prairie. His homespun clothes covered a muscled body that was a result of the work of the village. His head turned and broke into a bright, warm smile at the sight of his closest friend, who was similar in size and shape but had slightly longer dirty blonde hair and a more mischievous air about him.

A sudden noise jolted Link out of his reverie and disrupted his balance. With an involuntary cry of alarm, his arms reached out to grapple the limb that was just out of reach above him, and as his fingers brushed the bark, he passed the point of no return and fell to the feet of a startled castle maiden, who had a hand over her mouth.

With a suppressed groan Link pushed himself up from the mulch bark surrounding the tree. As he pushed himself up, the girl's apologies and fretting not quite able to reach his shaken head, he saw the penknife embedded blade up inches from his body. Quickly muttering thanks to whoever had seen fit to bestow protection from his own ignorance he snatched it up and stuffed it away, taking great care to not add insult to injury and cut himself on the keen blade.

As he slightly lowered his eyes to look at the smaller girl, he noticed the slight leaning forms of three girls, and shook his head to clear it. As the three centered into one, her tremulous tone reached his ears. "…would likely be around here and I saw your horse and called, and you, well, fell from above me." She looked shaken, but more from the shock of having his figure fall from the sky than anything else."

After some more questioning, Link carefully mounted his horse, who he could swear was snickering at him. Swallowing his pride he nudged her forward, probably a tad harder than what was necessary. According to the girl, he had been up in that tree for much longer than he had believed, the better part of a day. He must have dozed off. At any rate, Zelda had sent her to go fetch him for the meal. Which, Link thought as his stomach complained for lack of nourishment, he was glad she had done.

AN- What did ya think? Leave a review, please, and tell me what you thought, it's much appreciated! Also, a lot more reaction to the almost confession from Link than I imagined there would be, which was none. Sorry, I had to, couldn't resist. We still friends? : ) Again, thanks for your patience guys, I don't have the best writing schedule, and it means a lot that you read it anyways. So, thanks, and I'll see you next time!


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: Hello everyone! As usual, a thousand pardons for the wait, and thanks to those who continually forgive me and continue to read! This chapter builds up a few more questions, and more time between our two protagonists. Thanks to miano53, ShiverIntheLight, sippurp123, and Lars for their reviews. So, chapter 17 of Monster. Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter Seventeen**

Zelda patiently waited at the table for Link to arrive. Sharla had been sent to fetch him, and she trusted that she had given the servant girl decent directions to where she suspected Link would be.

With nothing to fill the time of waiting, Old issues began to creep in to fill the space. Particularly revolving around Link, since it was he she was waiting on. Again, the peculiar rush came, and it became harder to dismiss than the last time. She couldn't tell what this rush was, it was a feeling unlike she had experienced before. Her contemplation of the feeling disarmed her and like a hammer blow a question hit her- what was it Link was going to say when the captain and his men had interrupted. After the question had struck her that morning it was all she could think of. She had replayed the conversation in her head dozens of times, trying to fill in the blanks, and she ground her teeth in frustration at her lack of knowledge. It had become an increasingly large problem for her lately…

Link walked in at that moment, his strides stiff and involuntary grunts and groans issued from him. Combining that with the slight smudges of soil on his clothing, she surmised he must have fallen, perhaps from a tree he had perched in. The thoughts brought an amused grin to her face, but having years of practice of controlling what showed on her face, she controlled it.

To his credit, Link also demonstrated control in his discomfort, walking and sitting as gracefully as he could manage. He displayed a charming smile and said "You called, Princess?"

Coming dangerously close to giggling, she said equally graciously replied "Yes, indeed. I was hoping you could join me for dinner."

The twinkling light in his eyes threatened to spill over. "I am glad you extended your invitation, and was happy to accept." She couldn't hold it and looked away, choking out a laugh as quietly as she could manage. He lost his composure as well and laughed with her. Fed by the knowledge of the uncalled for nature of the laugh they laughed in fashions unbefitting of a monarch and her guest. After a long while they subsided, cheeks and sides burning.

As Zelda watched Link chuckle into his hand, warm curiosity seeped into her mind. He was curious, in his own way. For a young man of his background, he was very couth, and had well adapted to the environment of the castle. She had endeavored to keep the nobles and higher- echelon visitors away from him, and vice versa. Though she had no doubts as to his ability to be gracious and kind, she also found it hard to believe the nobles would be so similarly social.

She still didn't entirely understand him. He had been through experiences that were difficult to believe, much less comprehend. Coming from a small ranching town, thrust into a world so much larger he had known, and told that he must be the one to fix literally everything, from small, petty issues of the kingdom's inhabitants to the kingdom itself. Then there were his personal trials, the shock of his discovery of the Hero's spirit within him, the unnatural experience of being both man and beast, and the one companion that remained with him, the one constant in the changing mess he was in, and when it was all over, she left. Permanently.

And yet, here they sat, and for the entire world he acted like a normal person, albeit one with an unusually keen sense of smell and hearing. She had overheard from the attendees and servants, both male and female, that he was very courteous and often elected to fetch things and do chores himself rather than send servants to do them for him. And she already knew from her own experiences that he was indeed chivalrous, brave, and cautious. When he looked came out of her moment of thoughtfulness she noticed she had been staring at him, and he was staring back. Quickly she glanced away, cheeks burning. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him smile embarrassedly.

The food was served at that moment, breaking the awkward moment. The meal consisted of a freshly killed boar, still warm from the oven, complemented by steamy vegetables, and a basket of bread. A blessing was offered to the goddesses, and they ate.

After a few minutes of silence, awkwardness still spilling over from the previous moment, Zelda attempted conversation. "So, it looked as if you had a bit of a fall on the way here." She said with a small smile.

He laughed quietly, his silverware sliding the food around his plate. "Yes, I was, uh, sitting in a tree, when, uh, Sharla found me. I lost my concentration, and fell." He laughed again, and she laughed with him.

Gathering more courage from the brief moment of amiability, she asked more questions, gradually working up the courage to ask the questions that had been pressing on her mind. But Link beat her to it. Probably comes from having the Triforce of Courage.

"So, Zelda?" she looked up and saw Link frowning at his plate. "Have you ever thought about what happened at the cave?"

She averted her eyes, looking down at her own plate. She knew this was the opportunity for answering her questions, but in the moment her courage dissolved. But she had to give him an answer, so a little too late she answered "Yes, I've been thinking about it a lot." She hoped Link didn't hear the slight catch in her voice. He glanced up, a strange look in his eye, but didn't say anything.

"So have you uncovered anything else about it? Anything in the library, maybe?

"Well, no, not exactly." She cursed inwardly for her choice of words, and she said with finality "No, I haven't found anything."

He looked up, full-fledged curiosity in his face. He didn't say anything, but his eyes asked what his mouth didn't.

She sighed, then put down her utensils. "I've… been having strange dreams. I've seen different things, some familiar, most unrecognizable. And there doesn't seem to be any sort of relation between them." Her eyes took an unfocused glaze as she stared endlessly at her glass. "Before the events at the temple, I had odd visions, but too infrequent and indistinct to make real note of them. But now they occur every time I close my eyes to sleep, and are crystal clear, enough to not be able to tell the difference between the dream and reality." Her eyes regained focus, and she saw her audience's intense concentration in his own cerulean eyes.

"What are some of the things you've seen?"

In an instant the most vivid, and the one she most feared, was summoned to her mind. "I see a large mountain, a volcano. I peer inside it, and I can feel the sweltering heat, the stench of the brimstone and magma." She lost herself in her description, reliving it as she did in her visions. "There are wooden and rope bridges spanning the large rock outcroppings that rise from the magma, but they don't look safe. One is broken, a straight drop into the boiling sea below. On the side I am closest to, I see a white marble platform. It's the first thing I noticed given how out of place it looks, pristine, incongruent to the worn down and miserable atmosphere that surrounds the crater. On the far side of the bridges there is a strange mound, and from what little I see it seems to descend deeper into the mountain." She recovers, escaping the sphere of immersion she was in. "By that time, the vision stops, either shifting to another location, or I wake up."

Link took a few moments, pondering the description she had offered. Then he looked up. "What did the pedestal look like? It could hold a clue as to where you were, or what its significance could be."

She took a moment to recall, then said "It had markings engraved into it, geometric, with a symbol at the center of it. It was a semi-circle, with three extending prongs, almost like a dodongo's footprint." Suddenly her mind's eye flew upwards towards her bed chambers. "In fact, I have drawings of it, and some of the places I've seen, up in my bedroom! Crude at best, but perhaps they could be of use!" she paused, feeling self-conscious at the volume of her voice. "Um, perhaps I could go get them, and meet you back at the library?"

Noting the slight blush on her cheeks, he stifled a smile. "Sure, I'll be right there."

They both went their ways, but Link took a slight detour to his room. After all, a lot of the books that could help with their mysteries were there. However, he believed he had the answer to where she was seeing, and that possibility excited him. He quickened his pace.

AN: So what did you all think about it? Liked it, perhaps not? Leave a review, please, and tell me what you thought!


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note- Hello everyone! Back with Chapter Eighteen! Um… I don't actually have anything to say in this Author's Note. So, I guess straight to the thanks? Right, Allons-y. Thanks to miano53, sippurp123, ShiverIntheLight, Beforethedawnbreaks, InkWoven, and guest for their reviews! And without further tedious words on my part, Chapter Eighteen of Monster! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter Eighteen**

She walked slowly through the fields by the lake, admiring the deep sapphire water and the bright green grass. A breeze brushed by, carrying the scent of springtime, light and mellow. Smiling, she started to run, reveling in the life and energy that surrounded her in this place.

He picked his way over the trail that led to his destination. As he crested the small rise, the final obstacle between his gaze and the target, the sight initially took his breath away- a lake that appeared to be made of deep blue crystals, edged by picturesque rocky walls and a heavenly stretch of emerald grass. His nose twitched as it registered the airy scent. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he made his way further in the secluded paradise.

As she leapt and bounded through the scenic lawn, suddenly her gaze was drawn to the entrance to the glade. Nothing was there to see except rocks and greenery, but inexplicably she felt- knew- that something was supposed to be there. The longer she kept her gaze trained on the point in empty space, the harder she found it to turn away.

He strode into the opening, taking in the beauty around him. Abruptly his hair stood on end, and his instinct warned him he was not alone. He glanced around, carefully scrutinizing every inch of the expanse. His eyes saw nothing, but his senses continued to keep him wary. More cautiously, he paced towards the lake.

For the second time, she felt an urge draw her to the lake. She stood on the bank, just shy of the lapping water, wondering what to do next.

He reached the edge of the water. Eyes on the surrounding meadow, he backed into the water, feeling the blue tunic repel the water, allowing to both stay dry and breath.

A curious sensation overtook her, and swiftly her body dissolved and she entered the water, as only a presence without an accompanying vessel.

Swimming through the clear water, he advance towards the center of the lake where a pillar of rock stood, reaching up from the depths. As he drew closer, he glimpsed an entrance entrenched at the base of the monolith, with an arcane symbol emblazoned above it.

As she floated through the lake, she noticed an irregularity on the floor, near the large rock island. Drawing closer, she saw a large gate as if to a castle wall, with an odd mark above it.

In two completely different rooms the occupants awoke from their fitful slumber at the same time, sitting up in their beds and gasping as they struggled to separate the dream from the reality. As they calmed, both recalled very clearly the final image of the fantasy- the symbol made of six tear shaped marks all blossoming outward. As they turned over in their beds, trying to reclaim sleep, the icon loomed in their minds, refusing to be ignored.

Zelda rubbed her eyes for the fifth time that day, which had only just begun. Last night had been a difficult one, and she could feel the repercussions of sleep deprivation. Whether this was going to become common, she didn't know, but she hoped for the well-being of her kingdom it would not. It would not do well for Hyrule to be presided over by an exhausted monarch.

She forced her attentions to the attendant in front of her, who she vaguely remembered giving a report on the status of food supplies in outlying settlements. While there were no new difficulties as of late that did not mean that they were safe. The war had far reaching repercussions, and she did not intend to let any part of her kingdom come to harm because of her lack of action_. _

When the presentation had ended and the necessary orders had been given, she decided to visit the castle kitchen for a cup of coffee. Personally she never had liked the bitter drink, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

On the way she looked out a window where the guard's training grounds were visible. With a momentary twinge of amusement she noticed that many of them looked not much more awakened than herself. She stopped and scanned the field. There- farther back than the other throngs of dull colored guard uniforms was Link's vibrant green attire. He was currently striking at a training dummy. From this distance she could not see his expression, but she detected a slight lag in his normally crisp, efficient movements, clumsiness in his liquid grace. He was just as exhausted as the others, and by extension of logic, herself.

She delved back into her stubborn logic-driven mindset of explanation. Link would be used to rising early after his long adventure, and had no doubt learned to make the most of what sleep he could get; if he did lose some sleep, which he inevitably would, he was the type to disregard the symptoms. So why, her mind asked, would he be in the same state as the sleep-loving guards?

She revised her earlier thought- it had already been established that _she _was in the same boat. Therefore it could be reasoned that he had also been suffering from the- vision, dream, nightmare- ridden night she had, but what were the odds of such a coincidence.

She discarded the petty discussion. It was of no business of hers, and she had to focus on her duties, which, for now, included finding a way out of _her _drowsiness.

===========================================\^/=======================================

He swung, bringing his body in position to block the inevitable counterstroke before thinking about it. After long months of his life depending on such reactions, they had become hardwired into his being, like his fight-or-flight response.

Most who cared to look his way would see only the boy and a target dummy. However to Link he was not fighting an inanimate object, but he saw the ghostly image of a large skeleton warrior, armed with a crooked red blade, a round steel-gray shield, and similarly colored sparse armor. He had labeled the imaginary opponent a "Stalfos Knight."

Before his adventure, Link already possessed a rather intense imagination. But ever since then, and after the escapade to the Sphinx temple, he found that many things had been added to the world around him. Strange, ghostly images, and apparently only he could perceive them. The Stalfos was one such phenomena- unseen to any but he, and only appearing when he began practicing.

Such a lifelike and tangible opponent was useful, but it unnerved him as well. No matte how many times the ghostly blade made contact with his skin- which was not often- he would flinch, expecting the excruciating sensation of parting flesh to tear through him. In addition, the cold, lifeless hate in those empty eyes was almost unbearable. He was grateful whenever he successfully defeated the skeleton and put an end to the malevolent gaze.

As if motivated by such a thought, he smoothly ducked under a hissing blade- or he would imagine it would hiss as it swung through the air- and lunged forward on one knee, driving his own sword through the ribcage of his spectral adversary and ending the imaginary (?) duel.

He stood, and flicked his hair, sending drops of sweat flying away from him. This spar was not his most strenuous exercise, but nevertheless his entire being cried for rest. It would seem his body was just as indignant to the lack of sleep as his mind and eyes were.

He decided to oblige and sheathed his sword; he turned to the castle and made his way towards it. As always he felt stares following him as he walked, but ignored them, focusing on the prospect of caffeine and a semblance of rest.

He pondered his lack of sleep lately, and the resulting weariness. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to getting little sleep, but it seemed to cut deeper than it normally did now. Last night had been a restless one, but no more than any of his many fidgety nights while traveling with Midna.

He violently and rather overdramatically pushed away any thought of Midna from his mind. It was difficult enough dealing with all the mysteries of late piling up around him; he had no energy left to contend with the pain of an wound that he admittedly should have dealt with long ago.

His train of thought was thankfully interrupted by his arrival at the kitchen. Within seconds he saw the coffee pot which was still wonderfully warm. He already didn't much like coffee, but cold coffee would send him in the other direction, no matter how tired he was.

After collecting his cup and turning to where the sugar and cream was located, he was greeted with a second (welcome) surprise. Zelda stood at the cream and was adding quite a generous amount to her cup of coffee. When she turned he could see the faint lines under her eyes combined with the cup of coffee in her hands indicated she also was sleep deprived.

"Oh, hello Link. I didn't expect to see you up here." She spoke with the easy grace she used while conversing with him normally, but she could not fully hide the yawn behind her words, though she did incorporate it rather graciously.

"Hello Zelda. Neither did I. I didn't know you liked coffee?" Much to his chagrin he had to suppress a yawn as well, and accomplished it with much less grace as she did. He grinned sheepishly when she raised an amused eyebrow at the strangled moan that escaped his mouth.

"Well I don't, but today I feel that it's necessary to stay alert. Apparently I'm not the only one." A playful tone crept into her voice near the end of her sentence.

"Yeah, I, um, didn't get a lot of sleep last night." He twitched as he recalled last night, when he suddenly made a connection in his head. "When you spoke of the visions you had, you mentioned a symbol, right?" Perplexed, she nodded. "Last night I had some kind of dream, or vision, almost like the ones you described. In it, I saw a mark, a symbol. Here," he took a napkin from the table beside them and the penknife which he now often carried with him. Quickly he began to sketch the glyph that had come to him in his dream. When he was finished he held it up for Zelda to contemplate, mildly self-conscious of the hurried look of the drawing.

Evidently she did not notice, but instantly any trace of exhaustion was banished from her expression, replaced by disbelief, then excited urgency. "Follow me." And without offering any other explanation, took his arm and nearly dragged him after her.

Link followed, too confused to protest. Whatever reaction he expected from her, he did not expect her to utterly forget all social protocol or standards as she towed him along by his arm, paying no heed to the strange looks she received from any that noticed them. While he was slightly embarrassed to be in such an awkward position, he was also curios as to what would motivate Zelda to such earnestness.

His curiosity peaked when they arrived at the door of Zelda's private chambers; she burst through the doors without so much as a glance to the guards that stood openmouthed at the sight. Instantly she began to rifle through papers on her desk until she turned to the rather uncomfortable Hero behind her, a sparkling giddiness in her eyes. "I can't believe I didn't realize this until now! I had seen this mark before and put it down, but I was either too fatigued or too ignorant last night to make the connection!"

Still alarmed at her intensity and thoroughly conscious of the fact that any one on this floor could hear her excited shouts, he tried to slow her down to a pace he could understand. "Wait, you've seen that symbol before? And when? How?"

"Long before, probably when I first started having these visions, and again last night, though in a much different way." Of course she didn't elaborate on this "different way." "An now that I think about it…" She turned back to her desk, then to the bookshelf, still leaving the Hero ignored, growing exasperated. So she had seen this symbol before, previously and apparently last night. But that would mean that she would have seen the same thing he did, at the same time? Was that possible? If so, what were the odds? What did it-"

"Here!" She handed him a heavy book which he nearly dropped thanks to his lack of preparation. Heedless, she pointed to an image of Lake Hylia accompanied by a description and history. "In my vision I saw a big lake, with a gate headed by the symbol underneath the lake. If Hyrule as we know it today has the same locations as Hyrule of older times, then this could be where the symbol is!"

His mind spun as he took in what she was saying, but ground to a halt when he encountered an obstacle he couldn't reason through. "That makes sense, but I've been under Lake Hylia, and I didn't see anything like this symbol."

As soon as he said this, her face fell. "Oh, I didn't think about that." She turned away from him as she struggled to ramify her theory.

He shook his head while her back was turned, incredulous. How could the Zelda he knew of- the composed, regal figure in public- turn to this eager, _loud_ person at the drop of a hat. Unconsciously, he rubbed the back if his neck, but was impeded by his own hat. He knew that she had a more free side like she had displayed in the cave- but nothing like this. She was almost child-like in her enthusiasm. He found it amusing- even sweet. It made him upset he had punched a hole in her theory, so he looked around for something to validate her reasoning.

His eye caught a map of Hyrule on her wall. There was Lake Hylia, but as much as he tried he couldn't remember any sort of gate and glyph that they had apparently both seen. Still, he could always return, look again. Maybe they could both go, spend the day at the lake together-

He stopped, both jarred by the thought and by a seemingly irrelevant memory that struck him while scrutinizing the map. When his eyes traveled over the Snow Peak Province then he remembered wondering what could be under such deep valleys and unbreakable ice. The region _was_ reasonably close to the lake. Maybe Zelda wasn't that far from the truth- literally.

"Zelda? I think you may have been pretty close." She turned to him, intrigue written all over her face. Apparently another part of this "new" Zelda was she was able to be read like an open book. He discarded the idle thought. He pointed to the Snow Peak Province on the map and explained his idea, doing his best to credit the discovery to her own. It had the desired effect- the light was immediately rekindled in her eyes and she threw herself at him in a (once-again) disarming embrace. After letting him go, she began talking about making plans to go investigate this notion, but he only half-listened, still dazed by the impromptu but not unwelcome hug, and secretly wishing it had lasted a bit longer.


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note: So, chapter 19. Almost to 20. Huzzah! Thanks to miano53, Lady Fai, sippurp123, InkWoven, Anon69, and two guests for their reviews. So, chapter nineteen of Monster! Allons-y (I'm starting to make a habit of that statement)!

**Monster: Chapter Nineteen**

"It. Is. Cold." The female voice chattered behind Link for the fifth time on his count. Despite how true it may have been, he found it amusing to see Zelda, who was so used to the generally mild climate of Castle Town, clearly uncomfortable in the freezing temperature of Snow Peak Province.

He resisted the urge to respond in a manner that would only further antagonize her, instead turning his attention to the map in his hand. They had spent the better part of two days out in the mountains investigating their theory. He was surprised Zelda could pick up and leave so readily, but she assured him that she had left the kingdom in capable hands while she was absent, and besides, she wouldn't be gone too long.

Along with them was another guard, who was accompanying them at the Captain's insistence. While he could not join them himself, he would not let the princess go off alone (with no insult meant to Link), especially after the latest escapade.

The guard, who had introduced himself as Mark, had kept mostly to himself, for which Link was thankful. It would have been hard to explain that they were off searching for a long-lost gateway which may or may not actually be there. However Mark had been indifferent to why they were there and had only interacted with them as much as was required of him. Link was curious why this was, but he decided to repay the favor and not pry.

Unfortunately the map was not being as cooperative. It wasn't the cartographer's fault (it would be hard to blame anyone for not including information of where to find a hidden, ancient temple in a maze of towering glaciers and breathtaking valleys), but the lack of progress they had made was very demoralizing, and Link had opted to take it out on the inanimate piece of paper he so often consulted.

Perhaps that wasn't such a good idea.

Even more frustrated by his frankly silly attitude, he dismounted from Epona and walked rather huffily towards the edge of the pathway they were currently on. He heard someone dismount and follow him, probably Zelda given the light footsteps. He sat on the edge of the road, letting his legs hang off the edge, heedless of the impressive fall. Sure enough, Zelda closely followed and sat next to him.

After a moment of awkward silence, Zelda looked over at him, opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it. Whatever she had to say she kept to herself and idly dislodged a pebble which clacked off the wall of the cliff on its way down. Another minute of silence went by when he decided to break the silence. After a moment of searching, he settled on, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Woefully insufficient, but it communicated effectively his meaning.

She looked over, smiling, highlighting his understatement. "Well, it's not so bad. At least the view is nice." They laughed together, the noise echoing off the walls of the canyon." The silence continued, though considerably less awkward.

His ears twitched as he realized it wasn't silent anymore. He strained to listen, and caught on the edge of his hearing a slight rumble. Underneath his hands the loose stones rattled almost imperceptibly. His head shot up and saw the mountainside beginning to collapse on a collision course with their location.

"Up! Move!" He shouted, heedless of the effect it might have on the turmoil above them. He moved to hoist Zelda up but found she was already up when he first called out. He raced for his horse, Zelda mirroring his actions unquestionably. They both mounted with the speed and grace of experienced equestrians and rode quickly to escape the oncoming storm, Mark trailing behind confusedly.

Riding hard, Link risked a glance upwards. They were outpacing the ice, but not by much. He urged more speed out of Epona, feeling a pang at overtaxing his mare so suddenly. He would make sure to make this up to her later. Another glance upward revised his thought to if there was a later.

Finally he reached a safe distance, and turned back to see Zelda safely clear the danger zone. Looking past he saw that Mark's steed was lagging and would not make it. Jumping from his saddle he ran for the harried guardsman barely hearing Zelda's cries behind him. As he ran the exhausted horse finally gave and both the animal and his rider tumbled to the ground. Link hoisted Mark to his feet and threw himself and his companion away from the wave of ice and stone that carried the doomed stallion away from them amidst a cacophony of panicked whinnies.

Wearily looking up he saw that they had been dragged a further distance away from the danger by his own loyal mare. Zelda stood at what would be considered an unsafe distance looking distraught. She rushed forward to pick them up and sheepishly brush them off, a thankless task.

Mark seemed to recover from whatever stupor that had gripped him during the ordeal. "Thanks for the help. My horse had stumbled while I rode it and must have hurt itself. Poor beast never stood a chance after that." His eyes seemed a bit misty, but when he blinked they cleared. "Sharp ears you had, boy. Had you noticed the avalanche any later we would have joined the horse." Zelda nodded in agreement.

Link caught his breath and looked behind them to see what damage had been done. It wasn't pretty; the avalanche had erased any traces of a trail and had for the most part swept away most of the road the path had been on. They wouldn't be returning anywhere by that route.

Clearly Zelda had made the same conclusion, by the fallen look on her face. He went over and put a supporting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. We'll still make it back in time." She gave a small smile and nodded. Link noticed Mark staring at his hand on her shoulder and ceased the contact.

Link went over to remount Epona when he noticed a page fluttering in the sparse wind. Taking a closer look he saw it was the map. After a moment of consideration he stashed it brusquely in his saddlebag. It may have been trouble up until now but he was a man of second chances.

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Link's teeth chattered as he sat against an ice wall in the cave they had made camp in for the night. Suddenly Zelda's earlier complaints seemed much less laughable. Perhaps he could change into beast form for just a while, feel the warmth of his fur…

No. He searched for something to think about to distract himself. His mind wandered to the events of the day. They had mostly spent the second half of the day much like the first- wandering aimlessly. It frustrated him to no end, but there was nothing else they could do. They had found this cave near sunset and had taken refuge for the night, which brought him to the present.

He reviewed the vision of the lake over and over in his head, looking for any clue that might reveal its location, but he knew it was futile. Any point of reference he uncovered could easily be hidden by the ice, or have aged away. Why had they gone on such a pointless journey, with no evidence more than a hunch?

Too irritated to stay still any longer, he got up and left the cave, heading deeper into the dank recesses. Naturally it was too dark for a normal human to see, but probably as a by-product of his other form he could see and hear much better than an average human, which had proven life-saving today.

As he ventured deeper he continued to fume silently. It was his fault they were stuck in this mess. It had been _his_ idea to go to the Snow Peak Province, he had only attributed it to Zelda to make her happy. Ironic. What if they couldn't find a way back fast enough and the kingdom descended into chaos at the disappearance of their princess? What if they couldn't find a way back period?

He was so wrapped up in his worries he didn't notice the ice wall until he walked into it. He was about to unleash his anger and embarrassment with a few choice words when he noticed the wall he had walked into. It was somehow different than the ice around it- it was _too_ uniform, _too_ perfect in shape and smoothness. He impulsively lashed out at another wall, hurting his hand- there had to have been a better way to go about that- and he saw that the ice had cracked and gave a little where he struck it. The wall he walked full-on into hadn't even been scratched.

He unsheathed his sword. If striking the wall wouldn't crack it then he would doubt a sword could, but he decided to try anyways. Swinging with all his might, the blade connected with a loud clang, magnified and carried by the acoustics in the cave. His arms and teeth vibrated painfully from the impact, and the sword broke. Well thanks, Din.

Link returned what was left of the sword to its sheath. It may be broken, but there was enough of the blade left that it may be useful as a last resort. He stared at the wall, willing it to break by the sheer might of his gaze. Predictably, it didn't work. After maintaining the gaze for a few moments, he suddenly thought of an certain object in his possession.

He pulled out the flute-like instrument that Zelda had given him long ago. He still had yet to play it, but he kept it close anyways. When he had left two days ago, he had taken it almost without thinking. Thinking back, he discovered he remembered the melody she had taught him easily. After a moments hesitation, he raised the ocarina to his lips and played the tune. Nothing happen. Nayru didn't like him either apparently.

He heard a noise behind him and turned to see Zelda watching him. How had she followed him without him noticing? "I heard you stomp out earlier, and decided to see where you were going." She blushed. "It seems like you're having a bad day." It was his turn to blush.

She stepped closer. "I'm surprised you still have that. I expected it would have left your possession long ago." She smiled. "I'm happy to see you took good care of it." She made it to his side. "You know that wasn't the only song that was passed down through the years. There quite a few more. Most are just made of by different people over time, but a few truly date back to the Hero's Age and still hold much power." She took the ocarina and played a different tune, a song that instantly brought to mind the lake he had saw, and the symbol with it.

As the echoes of the Serenade ended, the wall shuddered and was still. Reaching out, Link felt water. As they watched, water ran down the side of the wall, first dripping, then a steady running, then gushing as the ice melted. Within seconds the wall had melted away. Zelda and Link looked at each other and grinned. They turned and raced back to the camp, eager to get Mark so they could find out what they had uncovered.

Neither saw their shadows hesitate before following.


	20. Chapter 20

Author's Note: A story update in less than two weeks' time? That's an academy record! Thanks to miano53 and InkWoven for their reviews. Allons-y!

**Monster: Chapter Twenty**

"So, what are we expecting to find in here?" Mark asked as they ventured deeper into the caves. He had awoken without complaint, but it was obvious that the unquestioning tolerance he had worn during the expedition was wearing thin as he was being led down a dark cave inside a large glacier that had no structural integrity guarantee. Link knew they would be forced to tell him some details of their expedition at least. Fortunately, Zelda seemed to know how to deflect his inquiries well; that was a skill that she must have picked up as a politician.

After a short while, they arrived at the site where the ice wall had stood, to discover there was no trace of its existence, other than slight indentations where the unnatural anomaly had met the existing cave. There was no longer any puddle of water where it had melted, and for some reason that made Link uneasy. If Zelda reflected this feeling she did not show it, stepping through with little hesitation. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Thus (slightly) reassured, they pressed on.

Continuing walking, Link started noticing subtle changes in the wall- nothing drastic, just a change in lighting here, a shift in composition there, but enough to clue him in on a difference. Whether this meant anything or not, he didn't know, and he did not like how much this was happening.

They stopped suddenly. The cavern, which had been keeping fairly level up until now, dropped suddenly; not much farther on it ended in a stone wall with a steel portcullis blocking further access. With a thrill of success, he recognized the gate from his dream. Turning to Zelda he saw his victorious feeling reflected in her eyes. Shifting his gaze he saw Mark behind her-

That wasn't Mark.

Leaping forward he pushed Zelda aside and behind him, drawing his sword, only to see and remember that it had broken. Groaning in frustration, he looked to assess his opponent, and what he saw brought him up short. It was in the form of a man, but made entirely of shadow. On a closer examination he saw it resembled him, though there were some inconsistencies- the shield the other wielded was slightly larger and the sword was also different. No, he recognized the unique shape of The Master Sword! Link seethed. Something about seeing the Master Sword in the hands of such an unholy creature made his blood boil. Raising his own sword and shield he prepared to attack.

He lunged forward and was taken aback when the creature perfectly mirrored his stroke. He barely brought up his shield in time to block the fierce blow. Keeping hunched in a defensive posture, he cautiously peeked over the edge to see the being standing perfectly still, watching him. Intrigued, Link side-stepped slightly and watched as his opponent executed the movement in perfect synchronization. He jumped forward, bringing his shield to bear, only to have it clang loudly with the other's shield. Pushing, he found that his strength and effort was reflected perfectly, resulting in a stalemate.

Suddenly the beast evaporated in a gout of shadow, revealing the Hyrule knight standing behind it, holding his own sword. The blade was covered in the shadowy substance that made up the strange creature, but a quick shake dislodged the particles, which soon disappeared themselves. Zelda stood wide-eyed, never moving during the brief encounter. Mark gazed at Link, cool intrigue in his eyes. Link's view met Mark's then swiveled to Zelda, then back to Mark. No one said anything. They had all felt the distinct wrongness that the creature had emanated. Something about it made didn't scream, but rather whispered quiet, certain evil. The kind of perverted evil that twisted a saint into a demon with a single push.

Link shivered, and it had nothing to do with the temperature.

========================================\^/==========================================

They advanced slowly into the gate which had risen quietly, unnoticed during the battle outside. Inside was no better than out, it was still chilly and frozen. Eventually they came across a giant inner chamber that had once contained a great amount of water, but it had all frozen over, allowing for easy passage. Still, Link stopped them and went forward first, testing to make sure it was solid. He was on edge, in overdrive, and more than a little paranoid. He wasn't leaving anything to chance.

Their painstaking coverage of the temple stretched on for a half-hour, and by the end of it they were stuck between the wonder they all felt at the temple and the fear at what might be inside. The empty, echoing passageways amplified every footstep, every ragged breath into a menacing noise.

Finally they stopped outside of door. As they approached the door Link raised a hand. The door felt…_ wrong_. It felt forbidden, something that shouted as subtle as a castle flag "You shouldn't be here!" Behind that, the same persistent evil that he had felt earlier, warding him, making his hairs stand on end. Whatever was behind this door he didn't want to know.

"Link?" Zelda called softly from behind him. He had been standing stock-still for over a minute. He mentally shook himself. "Link are you ok?"

He turned back to look at her, briefly, he didn't want to her to see the look in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm, I'm fine." He turned back to the door, "Be ready for what's behind this." He heard shuffling behind him, but he didn't turn back. After a moment he went through the door.

Inside was a strange room; the floor was inscrutable under a thin layer of white fog. At the center of the room was an island with a scraggly tree, little more than shadow and at the far end, a door, the exit.

"This place feels weird." Mark's voice came from behind him, but instead of ringing out as Link would have expected, it was deadened almost as soon as it left the owner's mouth. The air was too still in this room, unnatural.

"This whole place isn't natural." Link muttered. Cautiously, he started forward, testing each step before placing his full weight on it. Looking back he motioned for his companions to stay put. In a place like this with such a strong feeling of repellence to it he was inclined to let them wait at the entrance.

After slowly making his way one fourth to the other end he stopped. The whole time he was walking his eyes had never left that tree. Why? He looked at it closer, consciously evaluating every detail. What caught his eye about this tree? After a moment it hit him- the color. He had only seen one other thing that possessed that slightly reflective, shadowy sheen -the creature outside the entrance.

He turned suddenly and met Zelda's alarmed eyes. On the floor in the mist between them, the creature rose, forming without sound or warning. It stood for a moment and Link got a good look at its face, only to see it didn't have one. The features were there, chiseled into the shadow, but the life wasn't. Fear, a feeling almost all but alien to Link by this point, trickled down his spine.

The other drew its weapon, fluid and without ceremony. Link stuffed his apprehension away and strode to meet it for the second time that day. Just as it did the last time, the other matched his moments, muscle for muscle. They each took one slow step, two, and leapt and at each other with a burst of incredible speed.

Their blades flashed and met three times before Link backed off and started circling the other. This wasn't working, every time he attacked the thing imitated his movements, making it impossible to hit. He couldn't outthink it, he couldn't outmaneuver it. What else was there?

As he shifted his body in a flash he recalled relearning how to move as a wolf, adapting to his four legged body. Could that be the answer? Attack as a wolf? There was a chance that this thing couldn't hold that ability, and it fought by reflecting his moves. If he did something- use an ability, in this case- the other couldn't, would it be unable to fight back? It sounded plausible.

There were risks, though. He had no idea how his companions would react to his change. Zelda knew of it of course, but it might still come off as a shock, especially in an already tenebrous situation. Mark, who had no knowledge of the ability and was already strained as it was, would most certainly not react gracefully, at worst attacking Link. Then there was his own internal struggle to consider. Changing seemed necessary now, but was the trade-off worth jeopardizing his shaky hold on the problem? Lastly, he didn't even know if this strategy would work- the other could change with him, putting him back at square one.

After several tense moments of internal debate, he resolved to try it. He could see no other way to defeat this thing. There would be nothing lost if it mirrored his transformation, and as for Mark, it would probably be best to seek forgiveness rather than permission. Permission, in this case, being an explanation and debate Link had neither the time nor energy to entertain. Finally, the risk of losing his grip on his issue was warranted in his mind, the alternative being the loss of his and most likely his companions' lives. However in a dark corner of his mind he sensed the urge to change and the reality that it might be corrupting his judgment.

Link sheathed his weapons and began to change. He dropped to all fours, feeling the slight nausea of his insides shifting and changing as he body became smaller, sleeker, and covered in fur. After a moment the transformation was complete and he let loose a howl at the fresh feeling of being a relentless predator.

Lowering his head form the howl, he bared his teeth at the apparition, who for a moment showed a slight flicker of confusion in its features, bringing a semblance of life to the ghostly figure. Beyond he noticed Zelda looking quite shaken but stoic in her unusual companion's judgment and Mark's countering expression of confusion and pure terror. Under other circumstances it might've been comical.

Link jumped at the figure, covering the distance with one powerful leap and felt a thrill of victory when nothing blocked his progress. His teeth found the neck and instinctively went for the vulnerable carotid artery. His jaws closed and suddenly there was nothing to bite.

He turned three quarters and saw the figure standing there, no sword or shield. He lowered a little bit, waiting to jump again, but then he noticed the difference. The other was still there but its repelling presence wasn't, it was just… gone. He cocked his head questioningly.

The other inclined its head to Link, and for a moment he saw what he had seen earlier, the flicker of life in the wraithlike features, then it was gone. Disappeared. Link's head flicked side to side looking for it but it was nowhere to be found, perhaps gone for good.

Thus reassured, he turned back to the only other lives in this room. Zelda still seemed on edge but the signs of relief were on her face, despite the risky and disconcerting decision he had made. Mark on the other hand was a far cry from reassured. Sweat was visible on his face, not helped by the pervasive humidity of the temple and his body language- hand on sword, legs positioned to pounce or retreat- spoke volumes. Link produced an odd sound between a sigh and a pant. The battle may be over but he still needed to work damage control.

He changed back to his human form, taking note of the slight step back Mark took. Keeping his eyes trained on the nervous guardsman, Link raised his hands in the universal "I'm not going to hurt you" symbol. Speaking softly, he began "Mark, calm down, let me explain-"

"Calm down? You want me to calm down?" Mark's voice was raised and cracked painfully near the end of his sentence. "By the goddesses Link you just turned into a wolf! A carnivorous, threatening, violent wolf! You just killed that… that… thing by snapping its neck with your teeth! You think I would like to know that I've been traveling with someone I know virtually nothing about except the princess has a frankly odd trust and connection with, follow him into dangerous, unexplored territory, sleeping with him watching over me, and not knowing he could turn into a WOLF?"

Link had no answer. Only now did he become fully aware the level of Mark's discomfort for the trip and for Link. His mind churned for an answer, but Mark wasn't done.

"I don't care who you are, or why you dragged us out here, but I do care that you've led us into a place where we have nearly been killed because of your foolishness, you've recklessly endangered the life of the princess of Hyrule, and you've not told us that you hold the ability to turn into one of the most dangerous animal's known to us!"

Link stepped back at the verbal assault. The words stung and they were true. He had been reckless, leading them into a place he knew nothing about on a hunch. He had endangered the life of Zelda- not only the ruler of Hyrule but his friend- in pursuit of this hunch.

As he struggled desperately to find something to say, before he could even get a false start out, Zelda timidly spoke. "This isn't on Link Mark. This was my decision to come out here. It was my idea to go here, he came along for the same reason you did- protection. I also knew about his ability." Mark whipped his head at look at her, taking his eyes off Link for the first time. "Neither of us mentioned anything because we were worried how you might react," she took a breath, pausing to emphasize how he was currently warranting their caution, "and it is a closely kept secret. It isn't something we wanted to get out. Nobody would trust Link, no matter what he did for us; some would even attack him out of fear. And quite honestly, I need him."

Silence settled across the room as her words sunk in. Link's mind began to stall. For starters she was lying to cover his back; it had been his idea to come out here. Ok, it might have been a joint decision, but the fault fell mostly on him, changing it from an outright lie to bending the truth. But what did she mean she needed him? Was that all part of the story, a detail added to give it extra plausibility, of was it legitimate? He couldn't even begin to find a place to start to speak.

Mark stood undecided for a moment, but finally with a heavy sigh he removed his hand form his sword and relaxed his posture. "Ok. If your blessing is on this, I can accept it. As for his… ability… I can cope with that if it wasn't a secret to all of us, and I can understand why it was kept." He held up a finger "But I want to know everything. Right now." His eyes shifted to Link. "Anything else you've kept from me, why we're here… everything." His eyes demanded compliance.

Link and Zelda shared a glance, and began to tell him. They needed Mark's support and he did have a right to know. They told of what they found in the cave near Kakariko, the discoveries they made at the castle, and what they believed to be here. They shared everything, except Link's strange connection to the old Hero. He suspected Zelda knew something about it, but he wasn't willing to bring it into the open.

Mark listened well, asking a few clarifying questions, and when the story was finished he gave no indication of his thoughts but stood up and said, "Ok. Let's keep moving." delegating the lead back to Link.

They left the room, all silently relieved to put it behind them. After a surprisingly short time they came across another door that seemed different from the rest. Large and imposing, something about it instinctively told them this was the end. As they passed through it, Link noticed the remained of a large ceremonial lock, not unlike the ones used to bar entrance to the chambers of the epic guardians he faced during his quest.

Inside was a grand room in the shape of a square. They stepped onto a strip of land that ran around the border of the room, containing a wide body of water. In the water were three small squares of land, providing refuge from the pool, but by far the first thing that caught their eyes were the imposing spikes running around the room where the walls met the floor. They all kept carefully clear of the sharp objects, none wanting to injure themselves.

Link looked around the room and searched for anything that stood out, but just like the room they found in the other temple it appeared frustratingly normal. He bit down his impatience and started walking around the outside border, waiting for a sign he was nearing anything supernatural. After that failed, he carefully leapt to the nearest square, going from platform to platform. Finally, he dove into the chilly water, scouring the depths, periodically stopped by the need for air. Finally he surfaced and climbed out, dripping wet, and sat on the edge of the pool, silently fuming.

"Did you find anything?" Zelda asked form behind. He shook his head, sighing and getting up to face her. "No, there's nothing. Last time it happened at on-"

He was cut off by Zelda's scream. He turned to see a giant tentacle rising out of the water, leering menacingly. Near the base was a nucleus, a ball that he assumed was causing the water to shift and change. He reached for his sword before suddenly another version of him strode _through_ him. The shock of the event caused his arm to drop limply to his side and he stepped back, before he realized the flashback was happening. He continued back to stand beside Zelda, wondering where was Mark?

The Hero strode stopped in front of the tentacle that was emitting a strange thrumming noise which sounded like an impossibly deep laugh. Malevolence radiated from this being, a creature created purely rage and power, something that would destroy all of Hyrule with a devastating flood if given the chance. The implications of this thing hit Link like a brick and he was deeply happy he wouldn't have to face this thing in combat.

The water swiped forth at the Hero who deftly dove to the side and came up on one knee, aiming a strange device at the orb. After a moment aiming, there was a sudden_ crack_ and a spike shot from the device trailing a chain behind it. With a sickening sound of impact the spike buried itself in the orb and pulled it form the water to the land. The Hero unsheathed his sword and began to brutally slash at the ball, until it finally struck a vital part and caused a horrifying screech to echo through the room. Link and Zelda covered their ears and the Hero reeled form the creature, allowing it to reach the water and regain control.

This battle went back and forth for a good bit until finally the Hero stepped away as the thing screeched and burned. Just like last time he stepped forward, claiming a rejuvenating heart container and entering a spinning circle of blue light, escaping the chamber.

After the blinding light faded Link looked around to see the same chamber they had visited last time. It felt strangely comforting, and Link gave an almost inaudible sigh of relief. Zelda glanced at him; she had apparently heard him. They both looked around; admiring the grand hall they were in. When not preoccupied by the shock of suddenly arriving there, it was a breathtaking place- beautiful crystals that at first glance appeared blue but actually reflected a sheen colored with all the shades of a rainbow. Around them were six medallions, something neither of them had noticed before. Zelda instantly was drawn towards a yellow one that bore the most complicated glyph Link had ever seen. Looking at it Link felt a strange emotion washing over him- happiness, elation, a lightness overtook his body.

"The Sage's symbols hold great influence over those in their presence." The voice startled both Link and Zelda out of their trances and they whirled to see a familiar person- the Hero. Link felt the same oddness strike him at the sight his alter ego- did the Hero really look that much like him, or was Link's imagination projecting most of what he saw. In a place like this he didn't doubt anything.

"I'm pleased you found another temple so quickly. I was worried that the obstacles hiding them form you would pose a challenge too large for you to solve with speed. Luckily I was disappointed." He flashed a quick smile.

Zelda averted her eyes shyly. Was Link imagining the blush on her cheeks? "We didn't really know what we would find, if anything. It was Link that thought we could find it here."

With that one sentence he remembered the trials they had faced to get here. Without thinking Link blurted out "What was that thing?"

The Hero stared for a moment, and then realization dawned. "A living shadow? Resembled me," he grinned ever so slightly "you, in almost every manner?" Link nodded, feeling a shiver at the memory. All traces of lightness vanished from the Hero's face. "That was a dark creature that has existed for longer than any of us I doubt could remember. It has roamed our plane of existence for centuries, millennia. No one I ever met knew where it came from, or what its purpose was. The only name I ever found for it was 'Zhikyha' which is Sheikah for 'Shadow.' Link shivered at the word. "When Ganondorf conquered Hyrule, he sought out and bound the Zhikyha and effectively imprisoned it within the Water Temple."

"The room it was secured in isn't part of our world, but a place forever tainted by the presence. The light in the room supposedly comes from the souls the Zhikyha has claimed over the years; the strange tree and island binds them to the room, a lock and key." Both Link and Zelda felt a sense of horror at the revelation. "I faced the abomination in single combat during my quest. It was a long battle, one I would rather forget. Never before had I encountered something with such speed, precision, and lethality. After an hour I discovered how to best it- a hammer." He gave a small smile at their reaction. "Yes, I couldn't copy my attacks with the weapon. I defeated it and forever left that place behind me. I don't think I could go back in there ever again."

"After my quest was completed, I took an interest in the things I had encountered, specifically what I had only called 'Dark Link'. A bit conceited I suppose, but fitting. For a year I delved into all I could find on the subject and the deeper I went the more repulsed and disturbed I became. Finally I stopped; it had become too much. I learned that some things- most things, for the likes of you and me- should never be investigated, because what is learned cannot be unlearned. That knowledge cost me many sleepless nights."

A hush had fallen over the group, somber and disgusting. Finally the Hero spoke up. "We've wasted much of what little time we have. Listen carefully- there are six temples you must find, and you have already found two. I can give you what little knowledge I have on the remaining four, most of which is irrelevant in your time."

"We'll take anything you can give us." Zelda said immediately. Link looked at her and saw the glint in her eye, the slight bounce as she leapt at the chance for knowledge, and he instantly knew why she was doing this. Why was he?

As he thought this the Hero locked eyes with him. "Link, I know what you had to do to defeat the Zhikyha." Link looked away, shameful. "If you see this through then I have reason to believe that a solution for your problem can be found." Link looked back to the Hero's kind gaze. Was it possible? Could he rid himself of his monster with this quest? He nodded. Something about the Hero made him confident he could bet on it.

"Good luck, both of you. I look forward to our next meeting." He gave them each a warm look, and snapped his fingers.


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note- So yeah, funny story, I had just finished chapter 22, and as I went back to see who I needed to thank for reviews, I noticed there were none for chapter 21 because I had forgotten to publish. Whoops. Sorry guys, I goofed on this one. Thanks to miano53, InkWoven, sippurp123, and Lady Fai for their reviews, and indirectly letting me know I need to keep better tabs on my publishing times! And now, chapter twenty one of Monster! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter Twenty-One**

Link and Zelda found themselves back in the guardian's chamber, hit immediately by the humidity and stink of the temple. Mark glanced from one to the other. "Are you two all right? You both look like you've seen a ghost."

After a moment, Zelda responded. "Yes, we're fine, Mark." She looked over to Link. "I think we've found what we're looking for."

=========================================\^/=======================================

Link sat back in the same chair in the library he had occupied for a good bit of his past time. As he rubbed his eyes he thought back to the past few days:

They had retraced their steps to exit the temple, thankfully able to avoid the strange room where he had battled the Zhikyha. They had exited the cave to find the sun had risen during their adventure. Under light of day they were able to find a route out of the icy canyon. Another day had passed as they made their way back to Castletown, and all had breathed a collective sigh of relief when the castle had come into sight.

Mark had gone back to his regular duties as a Castle Guard, and Zelda had returned to her responsibilities as the ruler of a kingdom after war. Link, having no real duties to bury himself in, had his thoughts bury him, which translated to a return to the library.

Most of what the Hero had given them had been irrelevant in their current time, but the general knowledge had been interesting. He had spent the first day of their return looking into the two temples they had discovered, which according to what he had found were called the Temple of Spirit and the Temple of Water. They had been sacred places dedicated to the sages of the time until something had corrupted them. The fables and tomes he had found had all referenced some terrible happening that tainted the temples and their energies, but none had said what the event was. Link was able to guess though based on his own knowledge: Ganondorf had enslaved Hyrule, overthrowing the government at the time, and had used his considerable power to weaken and turn the temples into a breeding ground for evil and darkness. By doing this, he had taken the sages out of the picture, as they seemed to draw a good portion of their power from these shrines.

According to what he had learned, the Temple of Spirit had once been in a grand desert on the very edge of Hyrule. The desert and surrounding area had been controlled by a race of female pirates known as the Gerudos, and they had regarded the temple and desert as cursed, never approaching or looting it. Their worries seemed to be warranted unlike most superstitions however, as accounts told of those who pursued the temple and braved the desert were either lost and returned to where they had started, half-starved and insane with thirst or never coming back at all.

The Temple of Water was one of the oddest of the temples, perhaps given its nature and location. Apparently the premonition he and Zelda had was accurate; the lore told it was sealed underneath the great lake, impenetrable to everyone except the Zoras who guarded the region's water. Nothing else was known about it, except that it was thought to have an effect on the water around it.

The others- the Temples of Forest, Fire, Shadow, and Light- were just as elusive. He knew where they had been- deep in a forest maze, in the heart of a deadly volcano, above a quiet graveyard, and on the edge of Old Castletown, respectively- but none of that would help him in his current situation. After pursuing that dead end for the rest of the day, he had awoken today and decided to investigate more general history.

He had been looking into an incredible volume of information- the sages, Old Hyrule, the legend of the Hero- for the entire day. By the position of the sun he judged it to be a little before noon. He pushed back from the table and walked out of the library. He needed some physical stimulation.

An hour later he was sitting on the wall amidst mutilated practice dummies, weapon care tools, and a nice lunch that had been sent to him. As he cared for his sword and his stomach he considered the targets around his seat. His battle with the Zhikyha had reminded him how different real combat was from practicing on these straw-stuffed mannequins.

Actual battle couldn't be learned by parrying and countering a make-believe opponent's attacks, no matter how developed one's imagination. It was grueling, both physically and mentally. It challenged every fiber of your being to the breaking point, where the punishment for a single misstep was death. It demanded excruciating physical performance as well as taxing mental effort to adapt to an enemy's tactics. If he had trained only on the dummies he used to as a herding boy in Ordon and faced the unnatural creature in the Temple of Water he most certainly would have been cut down. Even with all his experience, training, and physical and mental fitness he had almost been overcome.

He snorted. Maybe he was just overanalyzing, his bad attitude projecting a more negative attitude than what was necessary. He could hardly use the encounter with the Zhikyha as a good example of a proper fight. He doubted any of the guards would face an enemy half as exotic as that. If they did, it would probably be too late. He stood back up, sheathing his sword and cleaning his mess. It was time to go back to school.

=======================================\^/=========================================

Zelda stood and stretched at her desk. She had been stuck in here for the better part of the day; it seemed that the officials were determined to keep her locked away ever since her escapade. It didn't matter that they were only gone for three days, and they had all told the same story- they were out, had hit a bit of a detour, and had to circle around which accounted for the delay, nothing special, alarming, or otherwise out of the ordinary. It didn't matter to those people though.

She had desperately wanted to see Link again, to be able to discuss what they had learned on their journey, to search together for more, to share this exciting, epic journey. If this is what Link had experienced in his quest, then she envied him- the rush, the thrill, the grand adventure of searching and finding something beyond themselves.

But as she thought more she started to remember who she was thinking about. Link, who she had heard moan in his sleep. Link, who had both an entirely other spirit and a monster raging inside him. Link, who had lost some of his closest friends and his life, both figuratively and sometimes literally to save a land that most of its sworn guardians would've balked and ran. Link, who was one of the most broken people she knew. Link, her closest friend.

She had never stopped before and considered the full effect of his baggage and adventures. She had known it was there, but never before had she stopped and thought of what it meant. How could she have forgotten the distress in his eyes when he first told her of his inner beast? He had left for three months and she hadn't once looked for him, not once looked for a way to help him herself. Why?

The Hero had mentioned Link's monster. He had said that completing this quest might provide a way to heal Link, to rid him of the beast? How could that be true? It must be, unless the Hero was lying to them, which seemed highly unlikely. If that was true then it was all the more important that they see this through, or at least she would, for him. She owed it to him, and he beyond a shadow of a doubt deserved it.

As she entered her room she saw a note of paper had been left on her desk amidst the other documents and books. A small, ornamental knife had speared the paper to the desk, drawing clear attention to it; under closer observation a piece of wood rested underneath the other end of the blade, presumably to not damage the desk. The thoughtful gesture brought a smile to her lips and told her the author of the message before she even glanced at the words.

=======================================\^/=========================================

Link heard the footsteps before the door opened so it was no surprise when a knife was slapped down on his table, mildly upsetting a few papers under them. He glanced up at the perpetrator who was trying to maintain a disdainful expression. "I got your message. Was the knife really necessary?"

He put on his best innocent face, playing along with her act. "Excuse me, princess, I didn't want you to miss it over that mess of documents you have in there." She grinned, finally giving up the performance.

"Do you have anything new?" she picked up a book at random, looking at the depiction of a large cave-like entrance which allegedly led to a deep, cursed forest. The pages told of a population of children who would never grow up, and all adults who delved into the forest became evil, twisted skeletons of their former selves.

"Just theories and hunches, nothing concrete yet. I've pinpointed a few locations where a few locations might be, and I wanted to show you them, see if you had anything to say about them. A fresh pair of eyes is always helpful." The map pinned to a wall by similar methods he had used with his message depicted the country; circles painted the areas where they knew something rested whereas several red X's dotted the cartography where possible locations might be.

Her hand brushed against a bold X superimposed on the Faron Woods. "What is this supposed to be? Wasn't there a Forest Temple?"

Link looked to the map. "Yes, and although the Faron Woods are the most logical place for them to be, I doubt if that's the case. We thought the Water Temple was under Lake Hylia, the most logical place for it and we were wrong. When I made these assumptions I decided to just throw logic out the window. These temples don't seem to follow rules of deduction. I just put that there for the possibility."

She continued to look at the marks until one finally caught her eye. Right on top of the Bridge of Eldin was an X. "Why do you think there's one here? There isn't anything under the Bridge, I've been there."

He glanced up and stopped, coming up beside her, unable to look away from the spot. "There has to be something under it, right? I was wondering why no one knows, and apparently because no one ever looked. So then the question became why did no one look? Then I remembered always noticing how it was unusually warm over the bridge, but the heat never continued past it. Whenever the bridge broke then it became even more conspicuous, a wave of heat and pressure, barely noticeable but still there." He finally made eye contact with Zelda. "The more I thought about it, the more I really believed something was there. In fact, I don't believe it anymore, I know it."

She watched as he explained his theory and reasoning. His eyes said he knew, or thought he knew, but she wondered how he could possibly know something so obscure, so anonymous. Could the beast's instincts be giving him perception she didn't have, or was it something else, something hidden she didn't know about?

As much as she wanted to solve these mysteries, she knew she couldn't. "Link, if you go on this adventure any time soon, I can't join you." She saw the questioning look in his features and she rushed to get it out before he could say anything. "The officials have kept me under lockdown all day, and they would never let me go out on another long journey." She took a breath, steadying herself. "And frankly, I have to agree with them. Believe me I would love to go out on these adventures with you but I have a responsibility to my kingdom that won't allow me to." Her eyes pleaded to him. "You understand, right?"

He nodded. "Of course I do. It's good that you have such dedication to your country, and I'm proud." He smiled, before turning rather suddenly away so she wouldn't see his blush, preventing him from seeing the blush that also tinted Zelda's cheeks. After a moment he turned back. "But it won't upset you if I go in my own?"

After a moment, she nodded. "Just please Link," she caught his arm and turned him gently to look her straight in the eye. "Please be careful. I know this means a thought to you, it means a lot to me, but it's not worth losing you." He took note of her words and nodded.

"Of course Zelda. I promise."


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Note- Ok, so the good news from last chapter's tomfoolery is- relatively early new chapter! Yay! Thanks to InkWoven, Beforethedawnbreaks, miano53, and Arriete5 for their reviews of the last chapter (a surprising amount of reviews given the chapter was only up for a day). Oh, and if I ever accidently forget to credit you for your review, feel free to PM me and I'll correct the mistake ASAP! So, chapter 22 of Monster! Enjoy!

**Monster: Chapter Twenty Two**

Link's mind panicked as he felt the rock he trusted his weight to break away from the rock face. He looked wildly around for a way to recover but it was too late, he began to plummet. After free falling for a few seconds he hit a slight slope which broke his fall. He used the chance to reach blindly to the wall, scraping his hand on the rough surface before catching a protuberance, stopping his swift fall enough for the reversal of speed to nearly rip the arm from his socket.

As he blinked away tears of pain from his eyes he looked around to where he had landed. Looking up he saw nothing but the steep cliff face and the sky tinted with a faint shade of red. Looking down he saw nothing but blackness.

Something was wrong he had looked right at it and missed it. What was it? He looked again. Up then down. What was he missing? Finally his gaze lingered on the sky. It was a beautiful sky, clear blue with the faintest tint of red. Why the red though? It was the middle of the day, why was the red appearing in the middle of the day?

Looking closer at the sky he detected a difference in the red and blue, they weren't quite on the same plane. They were different from each other; the red was not part of the sky but separate. He gradually looked lower and lower, following the red hue until he saw it was originating from the depths. There was one area where the shade was more intense than the surrounding environment.

He surveyed the cliff face he was on and saw a slight ledge that, if he maneuvered right and was more than a little lucky, he could land safely on. Taking a moment to gather his courage, he released his hold on the knob of rock and began his descent. Tucking his elbows in and ducking his head reduced much of the wear and tear on his already abused body, but he still had to reach out and look in order to stay on course. After a few seconds of what felt like uncontrolled free-fall, he landed hard on his destination.

Groaning, he sat up. He checked for any notable damage, but found nothing beyond a few cuts and scrapes. His tunic wasn't so lucky- the thick material that had saved his body from more serious lacerations had been torn and ripped in various places, making him already look more haggard than he did after most of his adventures.

As he brushed away most of the dirt that clung to his clothing, he noticed he was already sweating profusely. It was warm, more so than it had been in the midday sun. The heat he was feeling was one he had only felt before in the depths of the Goron Mines, within Death Mountain. He cast his scrutiny on the thickest concentration of the red light, which upon closer observation was actually a veil of smoke being lit from a linear crater in the rocky bottom of the gorge.

Ten minutes of painstaking (and painful) maneuvering down the remainder of the wall, he stood at the edge of the crack. Peering carefully over he felt a wave of almost unbearable heat, and he saw a lake of roiling magma, peppered by stalks of chiseled rock. From his current distance he could barely make out the glyphs etched into the heat-scorched rock, but they were as foreign to him as the hieroglyphics found in the cave underneath Kakariko.

Looking directly underneath him, he could see a shelf of rock that represented his best route down. If he made it, it would be a relatively easy leap. If he missed it, however, he wouldn't have much time to realize it.

Gathering his courage, he leaned out and jumped for the outcropping. The slight haze of smoke and heat caused him to squint his eyes shut, obscuring his vision. Through the vapor he could see his target fast approaching… a few feet to the left. He panicked, trying to correct his course, but there was nothing to brace on. Desperately he reached out to grasp the edge, feeling the heat increase as the roiling pool beneath him grew alarmingly closer.

He felt his fingers slap against something, and he instinctively curled his fingers around whatever they hit. His body swung from this new fulcrum point, his hands stung as the rock tore new gashes in the flesh of his palm. He ignored it, as letting go would mean much worse than injured hands. His body safely altered its course to a jarring halt against the stone, but at that particular moment the magma heaved and licked the extremities of his right foot.

Crying out he pulled himself up onto the ledge with newfound energy. Once the slab of stone was safely between him and the molten rock he gingerly crawled towards where the relative floor met the wall to recuperate. His foot felt like it was roasting, which it might've well been. He was reluctant to look at the wound, or to open his eyes at all, but he cracked an eye and carefully swung his foot closer to see the damage.

The leather had melted from the extreme heat, bubbling and fusing even now. Some of the fabric had melted away entirely, showing the cloth wrapped around his foot which was charred in places. Despite how ugly it looked, the wrap had ended up saving his foot from the melting leather which had come into contact with cloth instead of fusing with his skin. He cautiously worked his foot out from the now useless boot, wincing as he did. His foot was spared most of the harm save for a few minor burns exclusively from the extreme heat. They would make walking a problem, but he would take it over what it could've been.

He cut out the cloth wrapping from the melted footwear and carefully rearranged it around his foot. Standing slowly, he discovered that with some care and his own learned pain tolerance he could manage. It would be a good while (and a new boot) before he could move and fight at his full strength. He drew his sword subconsciously, hoping it wouldn't be needed.

Link began the routine of searching every room, a habit, once terrifying at the thought of what might lurk behind the door, now reduced to normal, even tedious. But the temples he had explored during his own quest to rescue Hyrule were different than these sanctuaries. Aside from the obvious architectural differences, they _felt_ different. He couldn't define it, but they had a distinct feeling about them, altered from the threatening, unknown gloom that hung about his own temples. These felt… Uncontaminated, or serene. Even sacred.

Periodically he swept an arm across his head, clearing the sweat from his eyes. If he was attacked by denizens of the temple, a happening that was becoming increasingly less likely, he would have to compete with both an injured foot and impaired visibility. He remembered fighting in the Goron Mines, the heat magnified by his own exercise of fighting the creatures and solving the puzzles that more often than not involved physical effort.

After the course of which he judged was anywhere from an hour to three (something about these temples altered his perception of time; he remembered emerging from temples and anywhere from ten minutes to full days had passed by) and he had explored most of the temple, he entered a room across from the chamber he had first entered. Instantly his eyes locked on a door on the opposite side from where he stood. The same feeling that got him this far told him this was the end of the road for this temple. The chambers of the temple's keeper lay behind that door. All he had to do was cross the stretching sea of churning, boiling magma. Right.

The clear way to cross was the evenly spaced cubes of stone leading straight to the doorway. For anyone else it would've been no problem, just a hop, skip, and a jump. For him though, his injured foot would make it significantly harder. Looking around, however, yielded no other way, so he steeled himself for the first leap.

He backed up three steps, and then dashed forward, pushing off the edge with his good foot. He landed on his knee and rolled on instinct, sparing his other foot. However when he had finished he reeled back to prevent toppling over the far side. By trait of luck he overcame his teetering balance to fall back on the pillar. Another performance such as that and he might not be so lucky.

He glanced up; there was only one more jump. One jump, that wasn't right, he had seen multiple pillars. Looking back he saw nothing behind him except the ledge he had started on. He shook his head, perplexed by the illusion. His mind strained for an explanation, but the only one he could come up with was the wavering heat had played tricks with his eyes.

He turned back towards the final jump, forgetting the mystery. He tensed and backed away as far as he could on the column. With a burst of vigor at the possibility this was the end he dashed forward and jumped over the small chasm.

He landed much as before, with no risk of falling looming under him. He stood and brushed himself off, nonchalantly to anyone who would have looked on. He strode towards the door, favoring his good leg and entered the final room.

The room was huge, nothing short of a cavern. The only floor was a large slab of stone in the center, peppered by holes the width of a large horse. He skirted these as much as possible until he reached what he judged was the center of the large piece of rock. His eyes darted everywhere taking in the sheer size of the cavity. His stomach turned uncomfortably at the thought of what creature could have resided here that required such huge confines.

Right on cue he heard a roar that pierced his very being. Whirling around he saw an enormous serpentine dragon emerge from the molten rock. The beast was enormous, bigger than the tentacle of water they had seen in the Temple of Water. His eyes caught another movement and he saw his doppelganger gape at the being before setting his jaw in a stern expression. As he walked further in, Link noticed that instead of the customary green tunic, the Hero wore a deep red version of the traditional wear.

Link watched the battle in awe. The fight was a spectacle of fire and metal that held a morbid beauty. He had never been the type to romanticize combat, but this battle was worthy of a poem. He couldn't help but let off a cheer as the Hero brought the dragon down and finish it. Writhing in agony the beast took flight before burning in the air as the mystical fire consumed its body. The Hero claimed the heart container as his well-earned prize, and walked towards the circle of blue light with the rejuvenating energy lifting his spirits. As the light intensified Link braced himself for the transition.

======================================\^/==========================================

A familiar energy washed over Link and he opened his eyes he found himself once again in the Chamber of the Sages. He looked around, enjoying his location, and noticed that this time he stood upon the red emblem. Looking back up, he saw the Hero stood in the center, smiling much as a friend would welcome you into their home. "Hello Link. It's good to see you again. But where is Zelda?"

He returned the warm smile. "It's good to see you too. She couldn't come this time; the officials from the rest of the government won't let her go running off."

The Hero's grin only intensified. "The government in my time was the same way. Generally we didn't listen, but she did have times where her conscious got the better of her." He chuckled, and Link joined with him but secretly he was confused. Who was the Hero talking about?

"Now normally I wouldn't be wasting time with small talk but we have a little longer than usual this time around. It's much easier for the magic to hold one person here than two people. So I'll allow a little Q A. I know you must have a good number of questions. Ask away."

Link's mind whirled as he thought of what to ask first. Before he fully collected his thoughts a question burst forth. "Can you really get rid of the monster?" He waited for the answer with bated breath.

The Hero's smile saddened slightly. "Ah yes. That. Yes, I should be able to rid the beast from within you, but there is something you should know first."

"The energy that resides within you, what you call the monster, isn't exactly what you think it is. You think of it as the spirit of a wolf inside you, a beast. This deduction is drawn from the direct result of the energy, the result being your shape shifting ability. What it actually is, I'm afraid, is far more sinister."

"When you first entered the Twilight Realm, your distinct energy from the Triforce of Courage was a beacon in the dark haze of Twilight. When the "monster" sensed it, it clung to you as a parasite would a host. The act saved your life at the time, as the dark energy clinging to you prevented the Twilight absorbing and engulfing you. But as time went on and as you became more dependent on it then in became more and more attached to you, infecting you. Now, after you have lacked the need to use it for so long, it is becoming restless. If left unattended, it will eventually take control of you, and I do not know if you will survive the process, let alone regain control."

The realization hit Link harder than a brick. "So you're telling me I'm dying of a disease?"

"Well that is a less elegant way of saying it."

"What will happen if it does take control?"

The Hero looked uncomfortable at this point, as he clearly did not want to deliver more bad news. But the boy deserved to know, and he could take it. Hopefully. "The monster will seize control of your body and mind, using you as a tool to work its destruction, and to sate its appetite. The fiend feeds off life force, which it had a steady supply of in the Twilight where the absorbed souls made for food, or you as you slew any number of creatures. It doesn't matter who or what the life force comes from, the monster will consume it all."

Link felt sick to his stomach, but he forced his knees to stay strong. "A-and you can stop it?"

"Yes, if we move fast enough we can free you from the monster and seal it away. But we're racing against time- every second we delay the more impatient and hungry the monster will become. I can't say how long we have, but if I had to guess, I would say perhaps…" he trailed off, wondering how long he could stretch the truth without outright lying. "Maybe a month."

Link's knees did give for a moment, but he caught himself. "A MONTH!? When were you planning on telling me this? A week before the deadline? I've only found three of the temples and have no idea how to find the rest!" His mind raced, until he came up with another question. "How do you know so much about this thing anyways?"

For a split second he saw weakness on the Hero's face- a rapid fire change between fear, anger, sadness, and a dark look that betrayed how old and powerful the Hero truly was- until he was back to normal. "I faced a being like this before. It was a twisted, evil thing, even more terrible and repulsive than Ganondorf. I defeated it, but apparently I didn't kill it. I won't make the same mistake twice." His voice was deadly as he finished."

For the first time Link didn't feel safe in this place, or in the Hero's presence. Quickly however, the moment passed and the Hero's expression smoothed. "Rest assured, friend, we will fix this. We will destroy this vile creature and you can finally enjoy a life free of life threatening creatures and the fates of kingdoms on your shoulders."

Link relaxed slightly at the almost foreign concept of true peace. Could it be possible? A life that most would call "normal?" His mind latched onto another question, one much less weighty than the previous ones but a hard one to ask. "Did you ever get there?"

The Hero finally relaxed fully, a slow smile spreading across his face as he tilted his head to look past Link. "Yes. Yes I did. It was wonderful. Of course there were smaller conflicts, but nothing that ever could even compare to my true quest. It was a good life." He focused on Link again. "It truly was a life worth fighting for. One I will fight to see you get."

Link took comfort in that. He thought back to his quest, and the bits he had seen of the Hero's. A small detail caught his attention as he turned the memories over in his head. "Why were you wearing a red tunic when you fought the dragon?"

The Hero cocked his head, perplexed, and then realization dawned. "Oh, you mean the Goron tunic. When I cleared the Fire Temple, it was located in the center of Death Mountain. It was so hot in there that it would kill you if you stayed long enough, but the tunic I wore protected me from the heat. It was still sweltering, but survivable. When it shifted it left the crater, and cooled off over the years.'

Link snorted. "I wouldn't call it cool. The magma is still there, and it's as hot as ever. Why it melted off my-"he cut himself off as he looked down at his outstretched foot, to find the boot was back, good as new. Looking over himself he saw he was spotless, not a single sign he had been in the boiling temple. "W-what? How? My boot, it was melted!" he couldn't understand, then he heard the Hero laugh.

"Took me by surprise the first time too. Something about the energy in this place does more than rejuvenate your spirit, it heals your body as well. Apparently clothes are included in that." Link continued to stare at his boot, incredulous. Suddenly he felt a slight ripple. Glancing at the Hero, he saw that the Hero was looking around sharply. "We don't have much more time. I think I know where another of the temples is in your world. Search the great lake for the temple. One might be there, I don't know which." He smiled, and inclined his head slightly. "I was good to see you again Link. Until next time." With a flash of light, he was gone.


End file.
